


baby driver - taekook au

by kenthedoll



Category: Baby Driver (2017), 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Genre: (not taekook tho i promise), Ableism, Angst, Angst With A Mostly Happy Ending, Crude Humor, Deaf Character(s), Death Threats, Disabled Character(s), Explicit Language, F/M, Fluff, Graphic depictions of violence - Freeform, Guns, Heists, M/M, Major character death - Freeform, Mentions of Minor Character Death(s), Murder, Near Death Experiences, Self Defense, Sign Language, Suicidal Thoughts, Threats of Violence, getaway driver Jungkook, mentions of drug abuse, police chases, racial humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-28
Updated: 2020-05-28
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:23:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 12
Words: 22,022
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24414301
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kenthedoll/pseuds/kenthedoll
Summary: Talented getaway driver Baby relies on the beat of his personal soundtrack to be the best in the game. After meeting the boy of his dreams, he sees a chance to ditch his shady lifestyle and make a clean break. Blackmailed into working for a crime boss, Baby must face the music as a doomed heist threatens his life, love, and freedom.ORThe Taekook version of the movie Baby Driver starring Ansel Elgort and Lily James.
Relationships: Jeon Jungkook/Kim Taehyung | V
Comments: 2
Kudos: 18





	1. prologue

**Author's Note:**

> AUTHOR'S NOTE
> 
> THIS STORY IS A DIRECT COPY OF THE MOVIE "BABY DRIVER"
> 
> IT HAS BEEN TRANSFERRED FROM MY WATTPAD ACCOUNT (@ ken-the-doll) BECAUSE OF WATTPAD'S INCREASING RESTRICTIONS

[ **TRAILER** ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Hum7ZcBmoc)

**\---**

"Next customer," a barista called out. He was standing behind the counter of the café Jeongguk had just strolled (or rather danced) into. "Next customer?" the guy repeated when he wasn't heard.

"Oh," Jeongguk quickly pulled out one of his ear buds. He could hear just fine with both in, but he always felt rude for keeping both in when talking to people. Mostly just strangers who didn't know him. Anyone who _did_ know him however, knew that he could read anyone's lips.

"Can I take your order?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'll have four black coffees. Medium."

"Name?"

"Baby."

" _Baby?_ " the barista raised a brow as if to ask if he was being serious because _what kind of a name is Baby?_

"B-A-B-Y. Baby," he spelled it out and stifled a laugh because of how the guy rolled his eyes before he got to making the drinks.

Not that it mattered once he got back to headquarters AKA the abandoned penthouse of a rundown apartment complex. He set the tray of joe on the meeting table and passed one cup to each of his partners.

One to Darling, the only woman Jeongguk had ever teamed up with before. One to Buddy, Darling's husband and literal partner in crime. One to their new team member.

And finally one for himself as he sat at the far end of the table. At the other end sat the new guy Griff who stared coldly at him. 

Their boss, a much older man by the codename 'Doc' separated the stacks of cash his team had just robbed into individual cuts.

"What's his deal?" Griff asked, gaining Buddy & Darling's attention.

"Baby? Same cut as everyone else," Doc replied simply.

"Nah, Doc, I mean is he retarded?"

"Retarded means slow. Was he slow?" Doc asked.

"No."

"Then he doesn't sound very retarded to me. He's a good kid and a devil behind the wheel, what else do you need to know?"

Griff continued staring at Jeongguk who sat silently and unbothered, sipping his coffee and nodding his head to the beat of his music. Though he knew full well that Griff was talking shit.

"So you don't think that there's something wrong with him just _not_ saying anything?"

"There's nothing wrong with a little quiet," Doc answered, wishing Griff would just shut up, get his money, and then leave.

"You know why they call him Baby, right?" Buddy turned his attention away from his wife for a second. "Boy doesn't know his first words."

Griff grabbed one of the toy cars (that was used as a model during briefings) from the middle of the table, making motor sound effects as he drove it closer and closer to Jeongguk before tossing it at him. 

He missed, so Griff quickly spoke to distract from that, "so you're a mute, Baby? That what it is?" Jeongguk didn't answer so Griff pulled the headphone from his left ear and sat down next to him. "Are you a mute?" he repeated. 

"No," Jeongguk replied simply, mostly just wondering why this random guy was so triggered by his silence. 

Buddy & Darling must've found it amusing because they laughed at the response. Trying to get in-depth explanations from Jeongguk was like trying to give a cat a bath. He preferred one word answers.

"What are you listening to?"

"Uh.. music," Jeongguk told him.

"That's right, you tell him, Baby," Buddy teased, finding the whole thing hilarious. Griff clearly didn't feel the same way, if him ripping the sunglasses from Jeongguk's face was anything to go off of.

"Oh, for God's sake, Griff. Leave the kid alone," Darling shook her head, moving from Buddy's lap to sit on the table instead, glaring at the man before her.

Griff put Jeongguk's sunglasses on himself before saying, "you can't just _be_ in crime, okay? Not without being a little criminal. I just wanna find out what's going on between those ears," he pointed to Jeongguk and the boy was getting a bit annoyed by then, wishing he could just put his earbuds in and tune the guy out.

But, he knew better than to disrespect these crooks.

"Besides of course uh," Griff lifted Jeongguk's iPod Classic to look at what he was listening to, "Egyptian reggae," he rolled his eyes, then dropped the iPod & his sunglasses, and Jeongguk was quick to catch them both so they wouldn't break.

"What's it matter to you?" Darling shrugged as Jeongguk put his glasses back on.

"Just thinking that he thinks he's better than us. Just sits there in his car keeping his windshield clean while the _rest_ of us, we roll in the dirt," Griff slapped the glasses off of his face again, making Jeongguk's jaw tighten up. "One of these days, you're gonna get blood on your hands.. and you're gonna find out that that shit doesn't wash off in the fucking sink."

"Relax," Buddy stepped in again, brows furrowed because of Griff's irrationality. "The kid did his job, alright?"

"Did I ever say that the kid wasn't great at his job?" Griff asked with a sarcastic laugh. "Nah. I think he's a star," he mocked.

"Would I vouch for him if he wasn't?" Doc stepped over to set Griff's cut of the money in front of him. The second he turned to distribute Buddy & Darling's cut, Griff quickly brought his fist up as if he were going to punch Jeongguk.

The boy didn't flinch, just stared at him with a bored expression.

"Gotta hand it to you, Totem Pole," Griff finally walked away and Jeongguk pulled his glasses back on again, "you're either hard as nails or scared as shit. Which one is it?!"

Jeongguk simply put his earbud back in and didn't take them out for the rest of the evening. 

In the elevator on the way to exit, Jeongguk was squeezed into the tight space with the other four members of that day's crew. 

Doc stood authoritatively at the front, waiting patiently for the doors to open on the right floor, Buddy & Darling sucked on each other's faces, and Griff laughed.

"Whatcha think of that, Baby?" the man asked and Jeongguk wanted to roll his eyes but refrained from doing so. "Mommy and daddy are gettin' it on."

"Enough," Doc reprimanded.

"Where do you get off?" Buddy glared at Griff.

"Right.." a little bell signaled that the elevator was stopping, "here." The door slid apart down the center and Griff spoke before exiting, "okay, folks. If you don't see me again, it's 'cuz I'm dead."

"Tell me about tonight, Buddy," Darling flirted once their annoying counterpart was gone for good. 

"Tonight, Darling, we will have post-heist revelry at _Bacchanalia_."

"Well that is the finest wining and dining of all the wines and dines in town," Darling hummed, walking her fingertips up Buddy's chest before the elevator dinged again.

"That's us," Buddy announced and Darling waved goodbye to the others before taking her husband's hand and stepping out with him. "Oh, Baby," he turned back to look at Jeongguk. "Do us all a favor the next time Doc calls? Don't pick up."

"Don't listen to him, Baby," Doc immediately told him, shaking his head at the many annoyances he had to face that day. Then, finally at the ground floor of the parking garage, Doc led Jeongguk out of the elevator and over to their cars. He set two bags of cash on the trunk of his own and handed Jeongguk one of the stacks from within them. 

"You know I have no pleasure in taking candy from Baby," he said as Jeongguk looked it over. "But we are very quickly approaching the day that you will be all paid up."

"One more drive and I'm done," Jeongguk stated seriously.

"One more drive and we're straight," Doc corrected, but Jeongguk thought it all meant the same thing. "Sound good? Oh! I was gonna wait until we were square, but what the hell? These are for you," the man offered Jeongguk a pair of white leather driving gloves. "Now give me your burner."

Jeongguk was quick to pull the cellphone from his pocket and hand it over, Doc trading it for an identical one.

"I'm gonna need you again real soon."

"You call, I'm there."


	2. one

" _Two men and a woman came into the bank branch clad in black business clothing--_ " a man reported through the television at home as Jeongguk sat playing with his stack of cash like a flip book.

He bent down to lift one of the wooden boards of the floor, revealing several of the stacks that he had gotten from being a part of Doc's team. He tossed his newest in along with them before putting the wood back.

The sound of the floorboard hitting together woke Jeongguk's foster father; an elderly deaf man by the name of Joseph.

' _You awake?_ ' Jeongguk used his hands to sign.

Joseph nodded with an expression that was a mix between tired and grumpy and as he turned his head to pay attention to the news, Jeongguk quickly stood to change the channel.

' _You hungry?_ ' he signed as he walked into the kitchen.

' _Always,_ ' Joseph replied.

' _You got it_.'

Jeongguk pulled out a loaf of bread and a plate before getting the peanut butter down from the cabinet.

Joseph waved to get the boy's attention before signing, ' _spread to the edges!_ '

Jeongguk gave a thumbs up and Joseph turned back to the tv. He grabbed the remote and started flipping through channels until he landed upon another news report. This time around, Joseph was faced with a blurry image of Jeongguk in the front seat of a bright red Subaru.

" _Seen here on a red light camera is a young asian male. He is believed to be between 18 and 24 years old and drives a bright red Subaru WRX. Police are unable to identify the male and are curious as to if anybody recognizes him from home. If you see this man, call 911 as he is a suspect in a recent bank robbery_."

Jeongguk returned to the living area with the completed sandwich, not noticing the TV as he danced a little circle around the coffee table before setting the plate down.

' _Where is that cash from?_ ' Joseph signed, a stern look in his eyes.

' _Work_ ,' Jeongguk replied simply and the elder shook his head in disappointment so he added, ' _one more job. Then I'm done_.'

' _You don't belong in that world_ ,' Joseph's sad expression created a lump in Jeongguk's throat.

"Can't hear you, there's a banana in my ear," he said aloud to try and change the subject, holding up the banana he grabbed for Joseph's breakfast.

' _You heard me_ ,' Joseph signed even if that wasn't technically true because the man had never spoken to him.

After his foster father had eaten and gone to bed, Jeongguk slipped away to his own bedroom and smiled at the sight of his makeshift DJ booth. He had a small electronic drum set, a piano, clean cassettes, and a tape radio that he used to record and put everything together.

After about an hour of fooling around with beats, he decided to listen to the things he had been recording that day.

He came across Doc's voice from earlier.

"Retarded means slow. Was he slow?"

And within the night, Jeongguk had remixed the dialogue with his instruments and recorded an entire new song to listen to. He simply wrote 'Was He Slow?' on the tape paper. The title area was a shiny gold color and as Jeongguk moved to place the new tape in his bag with the others, it was clear that golden tapes were a rarity, but they were extra special to him.

The only other golden tape he had made was labelled 'Mom' and anytime he saw it, he was immediately taken back to the last time he saw her.

It was years ago when she had been arguing with Jeongguk's father, driving them somewhere that Jeongguk doesn't even remember (nor does he even really want to), while he sat crying to his teddy in the backseat.

The last thing he remembered was the back of a semi, his parents screams, and then nothing.

Jeongguk traces his fingertips over the scar across his cheek and sighs to himself before standing to grab his jacket and leave.

\---

Jeongguk sat alone at Bo's Diner, pretending to look over the menu even if he knew it like the back of his hand. His mother had worked there for many years when he was a child so the place just kind of stuck with him.

He had his earbuds in, listening to his iPod as loud as he could go without it hurting. But something (or rather someone) managed to pull his attention away from the tune.

A brunette boy had walked in the door with his own pair of headphones in, singing as if there wasn't another person around.

" _B-A-B-Y, baby_.." his voice was deep and warm and incredible, Jeongguk had decided. He watched the boy walk through the 'employees only' door and before it could swing shut, Jeongguk got his recorder out, taping the boy's voice as he sang the little tune again, " _B-A-B-Y, baby_.."

Jeongguk played it back, hoping he captured a decent recording.

Shortly after, the same boy who had just walked by a second ago was now returning to Jeongguk's table to take his order.

Jeongguk quickly stopped the tape and set the recorder down on the table.

"Hello, what can I get you this fine morning?" he asks and Jeongguk stutters for a moment so the waiter adds, "oh, don't worry if you need a second. I have all the time in the world."

He says it all with a smile until he notices the tape recorder on the table. "Whoa, are you recording this?"

"Oh, um--" Jeongguk is about to put the device away until the waiter picks it up.

"Am I being monitored for quality assurance?" he presses 'record', "hello? Testing!" he holds the device up to his mouth and looks Jeongguk straight in the eyes as he says, "what can I get you this fine morning, sir?"

He holds the device out towards Jeongguk who's got this dopey smile on his scarred face. The waiter presses 'stop' on the device and sets it down before pointing out, "oh, you know that's a kid's menu, right?"

Jeongguk glances down at the colorful menu and sighs a little stressfully but laughs, "yeah."

"I get it. It's early," the waiter laughs with him as he trades out the children's menu for an adult one. "So are you just starting your day or did you just get off?"

"I don't know if I ever get off," Jeongguk chuckles, "they call, I go, you know?"

As if on cue, his new burner vibrates obnoxiously against the tabletop. It stops a second later and the waiter asks him, "so what is it you do?"

"I'm a driver," Jeongguk decides is a decent enough explanation. Vague but decent.

"Oh," the guy says as if he's impressed, "like a chauffeur? You drive around important people?"

Jeongguk purses his lips but replies, "I guess I do."

"Anyone I'd know?"

"I hope not," Jeongguk answers honestly and he notices the look of concern that flashes in the boy's eyes for a split second before disappearing. He plays it off pretty well.

"Well, aren't you mysterious?"

"Maybe."

"Maybe?" The waiter laughs as if he can't understand Jeongguk, but continues chatting with him. Jeongguk wonders if he's always chatting up customers like this. "When was the last time you took a drive just for fun?"

"Yesterday," Jeongguk smiles at him.

"I'm jealous," he sighs as he stares up through the windows as if longing to be out on the streets. "Sometimes all I wanna do is head west on 20 in a car I can't afford with a plan I don't have. Just me, my music, and the road."

Jeongguk's smile fades when he hears this because if he's being honest with himself, that's all he's been thinking about for as long as he can remember; Escape.

"I'd like that, too," Jeongguk tells him quietly, brown eyes practically glued to his.

The chef behind the grill clears his throat as if to tell the waiter to get on with it, so he asks Jeongguk, "have you thought about what you'd like to order?"

"You are so beautiful," Jeongguk adds just as quietly as he had spoke seconds ago and he shakes his head when he realizes he said it out loud.

The boy's brows furrow and he laughs a little, "you just decided that? Well, thank you, but.. I'm sure you don't mean it."

"I do mean it.." Jeongguk finally looks at his name tag and raises a brow, "Jonathan?"

"Oh, sorry," the waiter's face turns pink, "this isn't my badge. I've only just started here."

"As a Jonathan?" Jeongguk jokes, making him smile again. Jeongguk decides he likes to make this boy smile without even knowing his real name.

"Yeah, as a Jonathan," he laughs, then when he realizes Jeongguk's most likely not here for the food, he tells him, "if you have any more questions, let me know."

Jeongguk nods, but when the waiter turns to leave and starts humming that little tune from earlier, Jeongguk speaks up again.

"Hey, I have a question."

The waiter turns back with a curious smile.

"What's that song you're singing?"

\---

Jeongguk returns home to his foster father with a brand new record to play. Joseph watches fondly as Jeongguk's smitten self dances around their living room to the upbeat love song.

Joseph puts a hand on one of Jeongguk's speakers and smiles bright.

' _I approve_ ,' Joseph signs.

' _Of the song?_ ' Jeongguk signs back.

' _Of whoever's got you this happy_.'

Sadly, Jeongguk can never seem to have a moment of peace, as his burner vibrates louder than his subs.

Jeongguk answers it quickly, "hello?"

"Oh, there you are. I've been calling."

Doc's voice is even colder over the phone.

"You have?" Jeongguk knows better than to play dumb, but it's all he's really got right now.

"I have. My chicken just laid a very huge egg. You in?"

"Am I in?" Jeongguk's brows furrow because for a second there it sounded like Doc was actually giving him a choice. When has he ever gotten that lucky, though?

"It was a rhetorical question, Baby. You're in."

"I'll be there."

\---

"Meet your new crew," is the first thing Doc says when Jeongguk returns to headquarters, headphones in and volume up. "Over here is Eddie 'No Nose', formerly Eddie 'The Nose'."

"What happened?" another member of their new crew asks the man with the crooked nose.

"That's a no nose no-no, page one," Eddie replies.

"Right here is JD," Doc pats the shoulder of the man who asked what happened to Eddie. "He puts the 'Asian' in home invasion."

Jeongguk raises an unimpressed brow at that, but doesn't say anything, just keeps listening to his music.

"Over there is the one and only Bats," Doc introduces their final member.

"No need for the intro, Doc. Everybody from the jungle to the trap knows Bats," the guy says quite cockily despite the fact that Jeongguk's never heard of him.

Jeongguk reads their lips as usual, eyes hidden behind his usual pair of sunglasses, and decides that of all three, Bats seems the most intimidating.

"This is your boy, right? The one you say listens to music all the time?" Bats asks as he steps closer to the boy. "The driver's supposed to be the eyes and the ears, not just the eyes."

"Why does he listen to music all the time, Doc?" Eddie asks curiously, "he got mental problems?"

"No, no, no, I'm the one who's got mental problems in the crew," Bats says as if it's something to be envious of, "position taken."

"He's got tinnitus," Doc answers them, mostly so they'll shut up about it.

"Tinna-what?" Bats' brows furrow.

"He was in an accident when he was a kid. Still got a hum in the drum," Doc points to his own ear. "He plays music to drown it out."

Bats taps his finger against Jeongguk's cheek, right in front of his ear, causing a small bit of ringing to seep through the music, before walking away with an annoyed head shake.

JD continues to stare at him curiously, so Jeongguk finally speaks up. "Hat?"

"Huh?"

"Your tattoo says 'hat'?"

"Yeah. It used to say 'hate', but to increase my chances of employment, I got the 'E' removed."

Jeongguk nods slowly and decides this is probably one of the dumbest crews he's had to work with so far, "how's that working out for you?"

"Who doesn't like hats?"

He says it so seriously, Jeongguk has to purse his lips to keep himself from laughing.

As they're sat around the table waiting for Doc to explain everything, Bats asks, "so Doc, how many jobs you done with the kid?"

"If you can't take my word for him, then get back in that fucking elevator," Doc snaps, looking away from his chalkboard to do so. He continues drawing as he asks, "you never heard of the spirit of 85?"

"The joyrider?" Bats asks.

"Yeah, the ghost that baited cops doing 130 on 85. Headlights off, brake lights disconnected. He drove 'em around in circles on spaghetti junction. Left 'em in the dust every time," Doc says it all like he's so proud before he points to Jeongguk and adds, "that was our boy there."

"Wasn't that like ten years ago?" Bats asks.

"Yeah. Like I said, that was our boy. He's been boosting cars since he was old enough to see over the dash. Stole my Mercedes, had a lot of merch in it. I watched him do it, too. I didn't stop it because I was just blinded by the balls on that kid."

Bats bounces his brows as if he's actually impressed, but he's mainly jealous.

"'Course he didn't know who I was or the worth of the junk in the trunk once he dumped it, but once I tracked him down, I made sure to tell him who I was, what I was capable of, and how much he owed me. Since he's been paying me back, he's also shown me what he's capable of."

Doc takes a step back to admire his completed work on the chalkboard.

"Wow. I just drew up this entire thing while we've been standing here squawking. That's pretty fucking impressive, right?" He turns to face the rest of the crew who's chattering away (aside from Jeongguk of course).  
"Shut up and let's talk it! Baby, you with us?"

Jeongguk remains silent, but attentive whilst Doc explains his master plan. He's even silently pressing his fingertips against the table top as if he's playing the melodious piano that's blessing his ears.

"Questions?" Doc asks when he's finished explaining and Bats' hand shoots straight up.

"I got a question, Doc. Why would I believe 'phones over here heard a goddamn word you said?" he looks over at Jeongguk who already knows he's become the topic of discussion again. "You laid down your whole play. He ain't even listening."

JD and Eddie turn to stare at Jeongguk expectantly.

"Baby?" Doc asks, palms on the tabletop as he stares down at the young man with a bored expression.

Jeongguk sighs to himself, removes his glasses and one of his ear buds to explain (almost all in one breath), "the target is an armored truck at _Perimeter Trust_ in Dunwoody, 10:00AM sharp. We have the details to the route because someone at the depot has a nasal problem. The bank itself is right near the Buford highway, so we should be able to hit the ramp within 60 seconds of getting out. We also have a diversion crew. They're gonna blow up a bread truck a ways away to keep the fuzz busy. The dress code is the Michael Myers _Halloween_ mask, but don't buy all of your masks at the same time; It looks suspicious. The switch car is ready, but you want me to hit the long-stay parking structure at Hartsfield-Jackson to get a heist vehicle that stays colder longer. Boost a commuter car, a family car, something that blends in well with morning traffic. Something on the heavy side, in case we need to ram the cops off the road. An Escalade, Yukon, Avalanche, whatever. It needs to be ready for an 8:30 start in the AM."

They all stare at him with a dumbfounded expression except Doc, who looks at Jeongguk with pride, as he knew he had been paying attention the entire time.

"Questions?" Jeongguk asks as he slides his sunglasses back on and returns to his music.

"Well ain't y'all cute?" Bats says sarcastically.

"That's my Baby," Doc jokes.

"Fuck your Baby," Bats mutters.


	3. two

"What's in there is ours. It belongs to us. They took our money, our hard-earned paper," Bats thinks aloud from the passenger seat of the Avalanche Jeongguk had driven them in.

They were currently sat outside a bank, the targeted armored truck being unloaded outside. 

"They snuck in when we were asleep last night, took our pants off the chair, and emptied our wallets. They got what's rightfully ours. Now let's go _get_ _back_ what's rightfully ours."

Jeongguk presses play on his iPod as JD brings up a grocery bag full of halloween masks. Only instead of masks from the movie _Halloween_ (that he was _supposed_ to get), he passed out _Austin Powers_ masks. 

"What the fuck is this?" Bats asked as he stared down at his mask.

"Doc said Michael Myers!" Eddie tells him incredulously.

"This _is_ Mike Myers!" JD answers, completely unaware of his mistake.

"It should be the _Halloween_ mask," Bats shakes his head.

"This _is_ a Halloween mask!" JD argues.

"No, the killer dude from _Halloween_!" 

"Oh, you mean Jason," JD nods in understanding.

"No!" Bats and Eddie shout in unison.

"Fuck it," Eddie mutters as they all pull on their masks anyways. "Let's fucking go."

They all reach for their door handles, but Jeongguk stops them.

"Wait, I gotta start the song over," Jeongguk tells them, quickly tapping the rewind button with his gloved finger.

"The fuck?" Bats glares at him, the other two sharing looks of confusion despite the masks hiding their faces.

"Okay, go," Jeongguk tells them and they're all quick to bust out of the vehicle, gun in hand, and race over to the armored truck. He pulls forward a little, glancing around the parking lot and making eye contact with a man who's walking back to his truck across the lot.

Jeongguk stares him down until he has to look away and back up the Avalanche to pick up the crew.

They leave the body of a security guard behind; His skull leaked blood all over the pavement, creating a trail of breadcrumbs for the cops and increasing the crew's risk of failure.

Jeongguk should've known this crew wasn't going to work out the second he met them.

"Drive!" Bats shouts at him once they're all back in the truck and Jeongguk is quick to stomp on the gas.

The man in the truck (that Jeongguk had been staring at a few moments before) zooms after them as they try to make their escape, ramming into the bed of the Avalanche in attempts to spin them out.

"We got ourselves a fucking hero!" Bats shakes his head, "go!"

Jeongguk shifts into reverse and puts pedal to the metal, backing away from the good samaritan when he pulls a gun from his center console and aims it at the Avalanche, releasing a few rounds into the windshield.

Jeongguk's road rage increases then and he somehow manages to keep everyone from getting shot while he works on finding a new escape route.

As Jeongguk continues speeding away in reverse, another security guard emerges from the bank. He pulls the gun from his belt and begins to shoot out the back window of the Avalanche.

"Fuck!" JD shouts as they all duck to avoid becoming Swiss cheese.

Jeongguk slams the breaks and yanks the steering wheel, sending the truck whipping around in a 180 degree turn. The bed of the Avalanche knocks into a mail cart, sending it flying towards the security guard. 

It knocks the man off his feet and his head smacks against the ground with a horrible 'crunch' noise.

 _Fuck,_ Jeongguk thinks to himself. _That wasn't meant to happen at all._

"Good job, Baby! Go! Go!" Bats encourages him to get them out amidst the sudden chaos. 

Jeongguk doesn't even have time to process the fact that _he might've just accidentally killed someone._ He has to get these guys out alive or Doc will kill him and everyone he's ever cared about.

"Watch out!" Eddie shouts as the F-150 quickly approaches the opposite side of the Avalanche this time.

So Jeongguk quickly speeds forward, toward a ramped cinderblock wall separating the parking lot from a grassy hill. The truck tips sideways and grazes the hood of every other car parked along the way as he drives along the slanted wall and finally out of the parking lot now that he's evaded the F-150.

"That's how you do it, Baby!" Bats shouts excitedly once they make it back onto the main road.

Jeongguk's silent, however, as he speeds around through the nearby blocks, dodging and weaving in and out of the way of other cars until they make it to the freeway.

The others finally remove their _Austin Powers_ masks because they think they're in the clear, but when Bats spots the F-150 in the rearview mirror, he grumbles, "what the fuck?! This guy doesn't give up, does he?"

The good samaritan gains on them and pulls up alongside the Avalanche. He's about to ram into the bed again until he notices the back of a semi truck up ahead. 

He waits until they're parallel to the semi and slams into them, nearly making the Avalanche flip. Had it not been for the way their hood became stuck underneath the semi, Jeongguk is certain they all would've been killed.

He's not exactly sure they're going to live through all of this, but he can't afford to think like that; He's got an escape to pull off here.

"Come on, soldier boy!" Bats leans over the center console and aims his shotgun at the driver of the F-150 through Jeongguk's window (about an inch in front of his face) whilst they're still being forced into a T-Bone position under the semi.

Their tires screech horribly as they're ground sideways against the asphalt, sparks flying everywhere making it harder to concentrate.

"Now I got you," Bats smirks, about to pull the trigger when Jeongguk panics and yanks the steering wheel in the opposite direction, straightening out the (now severely damaged) Avalanche and speeding away.

Making Bats miss his shot at the good samaritan.

He yanks the wheel a bit too far, however, sending them smashing through the metal railing of the median strip to their right. Jeongguk maneuvers through a few trees and poles before flipping a U-turn and speeding off in the opposite lanes of traffic.

When Bats looks back to see if they're being followed, he is angry to find that the F-150 had flipped in attempts to follow them.

"New ride! Let's go!" Bats shouts when they come to a screeching halt in a sudden bout of traffic. "Move! Move!"

They pull on their masks, grab their weapons and exit the truck, zipping between other cars on foot. 

Jeongguk looks completely out of place as he sprints across the highway with them, dressed in normal clothes along with his headphones, sunglasses, and gloves instead of the medical scrubs and _Austin Powers_ masks the crew was assigned to wear.

"Get out the car!"

Jeongguk's lips part and brows furrow angrily when he spots Bats forcing a sobbing woman out of her car.

"I have a child!" she cries out, desperately reaching back in attempts to grab the baby in the car seat.

"I do, too!" Bats replies simply and pulls her out of the seat as if he doesn't care (because he doesn't). "Get the fuck out!"

"No!"

When Jeongguk approaches, Bats shoves him down into the driver's seat the woman had just been occupying and zips around to the passenger side.

"Get in! Let's move!" Bats shouts to the others who have been struggling to keep up. Especially JD who'd been forced to carry everything.

The sound of an infant crying brings Jeongguk back to reality. He's quick to whip around and release the tiny boy from his car seat in the back.

"Hey, it's okay, shh," he says as he gently lifts the baby and hands him out to his mother.

"What the fuck are you doing?! Leave the damn baby in the car!" Bats scolds him, but Jeongguk doesn't listen.

He's not about to add yet another risk factor to their (already quite risky, if not doomed) heist, especially not if it means endangering the life of a helpless child.

"Oh, God!! Thank you!!" the woman sobs hysterically to Jeongguk, making him wince as she holds her child close and backs away from the road.

"Get your asses in the car, now!!" Bats screams at JD and Eddie who had been struggling to fit everything in the trunk.

Jeongguk quickly hooks his iPod up to the stereo and grumbles incoherently under his breath because he has to rewind the song _again_.

"I'm in! Let's rock!" JD shouts as he's the last one to slip into the car.

Jeongguk slams the accelerator (as he is one to do) and gets them off the highway as quickly as he possibly can given their circumstances.

When a tense silence falls over them, JD reluctantly speaks up. 

"I left my shotgun behind."

"What?" Bats' head turns so quick, Jeongguk isn't sure how his neck didn't snap.

"I left my shotgun behind," he says, a little whinier.

" _Not_ _groovy_ , JD! _Not groovy at all_!"

"Cops!" Eddie announces when he sees blue and red lights up ahead, so all four of them duck down in their seats. 

Luckily they were still after the Avalanche--a black truck--instead of the red sedan they had just switched over to.

Jeongguk dips into the parking garage once the cops are out of sight and drifts into the first empty spot he can find.

Then the four of them split up; JD and Eddie now leaving in a blue sedan, Jeongguk and Bats in a silver one.

" _All units be on the lookout for a red Saturn Aura--_ " Bats is quick to change radio station as they follow the others back to headquarters, leaving everything else behind.

Including JD's shotgun.

When they pull into the familiar parking garage, Bats asks Jeongguk, "you see JD over there?"

Jeongguk turns his head to look over at JD and Eddie in their car parked a few spots away.

"He's a fucking idiot. You're a bright boy, though. So I got a question for you," Bats announces.

Jeongguk looks forward, staring at his own reflection in the windshield, not entirely sure what more this guy could possibly want from him.

"You make me miss that shot?"

Jeongguk knows what he's talking about. Of course he does. 

He turns to look Bats in the eye then, but doesn't say anything.

"Come on, now," Bats has this smile on his face that makes him appear trustworthy. Jeongguk is smart enough to know that isn't the case. "You can tell me."

"No," Jeongguk lies quite smoothly; Something he's had to learn from several years of shitty days like this.

"You're a good driver," Bats tells him, "a bad liar, though."

Jeongguk doesn't say anything.   
Apparently he's not as good a liar as he thought.

"In this business, the moment you catch feelings.." he lifts his shotgun, aims it at Jeongguk's head, cocks it and continues, "is the moment you catch a bullet."

Jeongguk silently glares at him over the barrel. 

Part of him wants Bats to pull the trigger.

"Now pick up your purse and go get the damn coffee."


	4. three

Jeongguk sulks as he makes his way back to headquarters from the café. He enters their meeting with a straight face, sliding a cup each to Bats and Eddie without saying anything or even looking at them. Not that it made much of a difference considering he rarely spoke and he wore sunglasses all the time anyways.

This time is different though because he walks in and sees Doc, Bats, and Eddie.. but no JD? 

He becomes suspicious then. 

Where is he? Why is he late? Doesn't JD know what Doc will do to him for that?

Especially once he finds out about that shotgun he forgot mid-heist?

"You lookin' for JD?" Bats asks when Jeongguk passes JD's chair without setting the last cup of coffee down. 

Jeongguk wants to ignore him. 

Bats picks up one of the _Austin Powers_ masks from the table, "he's long gone, Baby," he says in the character's British accent.

Jeongguk feels sick to his stomach. 

_It's already happened._

JD's gone and Jeongguk was only at the café fifteen minutes tops.

He's glad that it was his last time driving for Doc. He's all paid up now. He can finally walk away from all of this.

Or at least that's what he's thinking as he takes the elevator down to the parking garage with Doc standing at his left.

They both clutch duffle bags as they walk and when they reach Doc's car, he pops the trunk, turns to Jeongguk and says, "well, this is it. I'm a man of my word."

Doc sets his duffle in the trunk and Jeongguk removes his sunglasses after glancing at the car parked beside Doc's.

Red drips like paint out of the trunk beneath a set of blue fingertips that stick out of it.

Of course he knows who's been stuffed inside it.

Doc then hands Jeongguk a few stacks from his duffle.

"You're all straight, Baby."

"That's it?" Jeongguk asks quietly, and he's still looking at that trunk, but his voice never falters. Not around Doc.

"Sure is. You're all paid up. Cause for celebration," Doc offers a small smile even if he knows perfectly well what Jeongguk is really looking at.

"Sure is," Jeongguk replies, but never returns the smile.

He doesn't really know why this surprises him. Doc told Jeongguk the consequences of crossing him the day he caught him stealing his Mercedes.

It was also the first time someone on his team had ever fucked up so badly. 

Jeongguk just considered himself lucky for being able to pull through with his end of the deal despite how _utterly_ _fucked_ everything about the whole ordeal was.

"Oh, that?" Doc says casually as he turns to open the trunk of the other car. Jeongguk wants to look away but he can't. 

He stares JD's corpse straight in the eyes.

Doc takes his handkerchief from his blazer in order to shove JD's arm out of the way before slamming the trunk shut and wiping the blood from the outside with the hanky.

"You're gonna have to sunset that ride," Doc tells Jeongguk. 

Of course he's going to make Jeongguk take care of it, make him risk getting caught by police in yet another stolen car.

The only difference being that _there's a fucking body in the trunk of this one_.

"Drive safe, Baby," is all Doc leaves him with.

So Jeongguk drives a corpse to the junkyard, all the while urging himself to forget about it all and _just get it done_ while a nervous drop of sweat falls from his brow.

He watches as the car is lifted and dropped into the giant crushing machine, and turns up the volume on his iPod with each sickening crunch of metal.

He walks away with his volume on full blast and bare hands, as he had left his burner, along with the driving gloves Doc gave him to be crushed as well.

Though Jeongguk would now consider his hands red, unclean.

Stealing vehicles and getaway driving is one thing.

Assisting somebody in coldblooded murder is another.

**\---**

"You're back!" the familiar brunette waiter from the other day greets Jeongguk when he steps into Bo's.

He lets out a sigh, but it's one of relief more so than irritation. "Yeah. Sure am," Jeongguk nods, willing himself to smile for the guy despite what he's just gone through.

He tells himself he should be happy because now he never has to see Doc's face ever again.

"Well then you, sir, are gonna be my very last customer because I am walking out that door in precisely thirty seconds."

"You're leaving?"

"Yes, sir," he nods.

"Can I come with you?" Jeongguk tries not to look like he's desperate for an escape from his own life, hopes Taehyung will take pity on him just this once. 

And he hates pity.

"You don't have work or nothing?"

"I don't," he shakes his head confidently. "I am done with work," he says and there's a moment of peace as he does.

"You seem real happy about that."

"Yeah, I sure am."

"Well you're welcome to come with, but I don't know how exciting you're gonna find the laundromat.."

Jeongguk raises a brow at this.

"I gotta run some errands," the waiter sighs and walks behind the counter, "so think about what you want and I'll stick around just for you."

He picks up a freshly made pot of coffee and asks, "coffee?"

"Please.." Jeongguk sighs in relief yet again before going to take a seat in the same booth he always does.

"How're you two getting along?" the owner asks her employee, having noticed the way they gravitate toward one another anytime Jeongguk sets foot in the place.

"Great.." he replies as he pours Jeongguk a mug of coffee. "He seems sweet, doesn't he?"

"Kid's been coming in here since before I bought this place," she replies to that, not sure what to make of the starry eyed stranger. "Pretty sure his mom worked here."

**\---**

"Know what you want?"

Jeongguk smoothly takes out an earbud, "your name?"

 _Took you look enough_ , the waiter thinks to himself.

"Well, you can get that for free," he lifts Jeongguk's tape recorder, presses 'record' and says, "it's Taehyung."

Then after pressing 'stop' and setting the recorder down, he tells him, "or you can call me Tae Tae."

"Sounds like a song.."

"The TWICE one, right?" Taehyung giggles.

"I don't think I know that one.." Jeongguk blushes a bit because he, of all people, should be up to date with current music, but his old job never allowed him much time for anything.

Jeongguk was so ready to have a life again.

"Really?" Taehyung's the one raising a brow this time as he sits in front of Jeongguk in the booth.

"It goes like this," he picks up Jeongguk's recorder again and sings a little shyly, " _I'm like TT.. Just like TT.. Tell me that you'd be my baby.._ "

Jeongguk's smile is the biggest it's been in a while because 1) he hasn't heard a voice as beautiful as Taehyung's in years and 2) Taehyung makes 'Baby' sound like a term of endearment rather than just some street name.

"My step sister's got me beat," Tae tells him after he's no longer recording. "Her name's Mary so she's got all the songs: _Mary, Mary, Where You Going To, Proud Mary, Wind Cries Mary_.. She's got endless songs and I barely have one.." he laughs a little sadly.

"Well a song doesn't have to have a name in the title in order to be about someone," Jeongguk tells him, and with a flirty little smirk, he adds, "so now you've got at least two."

"Yeah? What's the other one?" Taehyung asks, curious to see what Jeongguk will say.

" _Baby, I'm Yours_.." he answers, hoping he's not coming on too strong.

"By who?"

"Barbara Lewis..?" Jeongguk answers without much conviction because he's not sure if he's remembering the name correctly.

"I don't know that one," Taehyung admits. "How's it go?" he lifts the tape recorder again, holding it up to Jeongguk's smiling lips.

" _Baby, I'm yours.. and I'll be yours 'til the stars fall from the sky.._ " Jeongguk sings for him, not caring about the fact that he's being taped. " _Yours until the rivers all run dry.. In other words, until I die.. Baby, I'm yours.._ "

Tae feels himself melt a little, getting a little too lost in Jeongguk's dark eyes.

He knows Jeongguk's seen things, probably done things they shouldn't speak of. It's evident in his eyes. He's got scars and cuts and bruises as well, but his eyes seem to hold more than anything else.

Taehyung knew it probably wasn't the best idea; That falling for a guy like Jeongguk, was setting himself up for something he wasn't sure he could handle.

But he needed to know more. He longed to know what was going on between those earbuds, behind those somber, starry eyes.

"Nice.." Taehyung complimented him, trying not to be a pushover, like his mom always told him he was.

"I uh, I think I have it on this iPod," Jeongguk pulls out another Classic with pink rhinestones all over it.

Tae's smile widens at the sight of it, "wow.." 

He feels happy that Jeongguk doesn't seem to care about what others think of him. He wishes he could be more like that sometimes.

"How many of those do you have?" Taehyung asks curiously.

"I have different ones for different days, different moods.." Jeongguk's never really had to explain any of this until now because no one's ever asked.

They usually just want to know if he's mentally challenged.

"Oh.." Taehyung says as if he understands, slowly tracing a fingertip over the bedazzled mp3 player, "so you're in a _pink and glittery_ mood?"

"I am now," Jeongguk answers, earning another adorable giggle from the waiter sat across from him.

"What is your name?" Taehyung asks him then, finally realizing he hasn't gotten Jeongguk's name either. 

Time flies when you're having fun.

"Baby," Jeongguk answers.

"Wait, what? You're 'Baby'? B-A-B-Y, 'Baby'?"

Jeongguk nods, used to having this conversation, "yep."

Taehyung shakes his head in fake frustration, "then you've got us all beat! Every damn song is about you! You could drive back and forth across the states and never run out of 'Baby' songs," he laughs.

"Might run outta gas, though," Jeongguk laughs along with him because it makes him feel good and Jeongguk will be damned if he lets himself pass up an opportunity to feel a little better.

"Did your mom call you 'Baby' as a kid?" Taehyung asks curiously, wondering how the name came about, but clearly not meaning to do any harm by it.

"Sometimes.." Jeongguk answers, glancing down at the pink rhinestones in his hand, because he wasn't necessarily expecting to be asked about his mom right then.

"She used to work here, right?"

Jeongguk's quiet for a second but answers, "sometimes, but uh.. she was a singer, too."

Taehyung looks impressed.

"What does she do now?" he asks, curiosity seeming to be a personality trait of his.

"Nothing," Jeongguk answers near a whisper and Taehyung realizes he's struck a nerve.

"I can find that song, if you want.." Jeongguk says just as quietly as he begins scrolling through the tracks.

"Taehyung!" the chef snaps at the waiter to get back to work. "For crying out loud," he mutters.

Taehyung stands, still feeling guilty for making Jeongguk feel uncomfortable. "Play it for me sometime.. when I don't have to get out of here. Deal?

Jeongguk manages another smile for him. 

"Yeah, deal."

"D'you know what you want yet?" Taehyung chuckles a little as he clicks the pen in his apron.

"To get out of here," Jeongguk tells him.

**\---**

While Taehyung's clothes are tossed around in the spin cycle at the laundromat, he sits with Jeongguk and they listen to the song he sang to him earlier that day.

"You were right," Tae says when the song is over and he hands the earbud back, "I do like it."

Jeongguk smiles, letting the other bud fall to his chest, because unlike most company he's been around lately, he actually likes to listen to Taehyung speak.

Even if it means suffering through the ringing in his ears.

Because his lips are nice to look at and easy to read, but the sound of his voice is warm and deep and it makes Jeongguk's soul feel alive again.

"So, what's your story?" Taehyung stands then, wandering up to the machine his clothes are in and making sure everything's still going smoothly. "You from around here?"

"Yeah, I am," is all he answers with, so Taehyung prods a little more.

"Keep going, keep going," he chuckles, making Jeongguk smile again. "You're from here, you're a driver, you like music, you don't talk much.."

"No.. I've, uh, spoken more to you today than I have to anyone all year," he admits.

"Wow, okay. Not a blabber mouth. Noted," Tae jokes.

"I have this hearing thing.." Jeongguk explains a little timidly, used to being judged for it, "I was in an accident when I was little."

"Is that what happened to your mom..?" Taehyung asks softly.

"Yeah, yeah.." Jeongguk answers, looking down at the checkered floor tile, "and my dad... I miss them."

"I'm so sorry," Tae says sincerely, Jeongguk can tell.

"Don't be.." he smiles sweetly, looking into Tae's eyes again, "I live with my foster dad. But he's getting older, so it's more like I'm looking after him."

"I know how that feels," Taehyung smiles nostalgically, but the words taste bittersweet on his tongue. "I had to look after my mom when she got sick.. It might seem tough now, but once they're gone, you miss having someone to care for.." his eyes water a little and he quietly admits, "I don't have much keeping me here anymore."

"You don't?" Jeongguk hums in interest, captivated by Taehyung's wet eyes.

Tae nods as a response before saying, "you know, we could get together some other place.. some other time?"

He says it like he hopes Jeongguk will take him up on the offer.

"Somewhere that's not a diner or laundromat?" Jeongguk teases him.

"Yeah, well, not that this isn't nice, but.." Taehyung laughs with him in agreement.

"We could go to, uh.. _Bacchanalia_.." Jeongguk remembers the name of the fancy restaurant Buddy & Darling ran off to after their heist a while back.

"I've never been," Taehyung tells him, "I hear it's nice."

"Oh, it's the finest wining and dining of all the wines and dines in town."

Taehyung can't help but glance at Jeongguk's lips as he says it and also can't help the way his cheeks turn pink.

"I would love to, but they've got me pulling doubles at the diner all week.. What about next week? What's your schedule like?"

"I dunno," Jeongguk replies.

"Oh, I forgot; They call, you go."

"No, I mean I'm not working."

"You're not driving anymore?" Taehyung's head tilts slightly and Jeongguk finds it adorable.

"No."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. It was my choice."

"Well aren't you the lucky one?" Taehyung hums.

Jeongguk wishes that was the case.


	5. four

Jeongguk went home that night in a particularly pleasant mood, smelling like laundry detergent and clutching a plastic bag full of cassettes.

Joseph watched his foster son waltz around the room to the new tunes he played, a contented smile on his face as he mouthed the lyrics.

' _What's all this about?_ ' Joseph signed from the couch.

' _A boy_ ,' Jeongguk replied and when he pulled a few racks of cash out from behind his belt, Joseph shook his head in disappointment.

Jeongguk knelt down to add the stack to his stash under the floorboards.

' _I'm done_ ,' he signed to Joseph when he stood to join him on the couch.

The news was on as usual and Jeongguk was quick to change the channel when an image of the bank he had just helped rob suddenly appeared in the corner of the screen.

Joseph brought up a flyer for a pizza place down the street from their apartment and Jeongguk chuckled a little before signing, ' _pizza? Are we celebrating?_ '

' _Celebrating you getting a real job_ ,' Joseph nodded excitedly.

Jeongguk raised a brow at that, ' _what kind of job?_ '

' _Wouldn't it be good to bring joy to people when you drive?_ ' Joseph asked and Jeongguk swallowed past the guilty feeling in his throat.

"Pizza?" Jeongguk said aloud.

The next day, Jeongguk applied as a delivery boy and was hired on the spot. But despite how fast he delivered, the tips he was making were simply not enough.

Still, he counted out his earnings on the dining table after a week of work, just to make Joseph happy.

' _And you'll only need to wash your hands once after counting that out_ ,' Joseph smiled up at Jeongguk, who offered a half smile in return.

' _I know._ '

' _And you won't put others' lives in danger_.'

' _I won't let anything bad happen to you_ ,' Jeongguk looked Joseph in the eye with sincerity.

' _I'm not talking about me_ ,' Joseph signed, but he still appreciated the sentiment.

Jeongguk just nodded comprehensively.

He knew Joseph was talking about Taehyung even if the two had never even met.

**\---**

Enjoying his night out at _Bacchanalia_ with Taehyung, Jeongguk's brows furrowed in confusion when they were finished eating and they were told that their check had been taken up by 'a gentleman.'

"A gentleman?" Taehyung curiously asks the waiter, who gestures to a man standing over by the bar a few meters away, before wandering off.

Jeongguk's jaw sets when he instantly recognizes the man, who is now staring directly back at him.

"Who is that?" Taehyung asks Jeongguk, feeling the tension rise as he watches them meet each other's gaze from across the room.

"It's my old boss," he says quietly.

When Doc nods his head to the side before walking off in the same direction, Jeongguk is forced to leave the table, but not without a reluctant, "please excuse me just a second.."

Taehyung nods and settles back into his seat, accepting another glassful of wine from a passing waiter while Jeongguk slips outdoors into the night.

"Good meal, Baby?" Doc asks when he hears Jeongguk's footsteps approaching from behind. He turns to look at the younger man then. "That foie gras terrine is somethin', huh?"

"Yeah," Jeongguk answers flatly, glancing down at the glass of scotch in Doc's hand.

He knows full well this conversation isn't really going to be about their night out.

"You don't look happy to see me. Why? I said we were straight, but did you think we were done? That that was it?"

Jeongguk feels his heart sink and replies, "I guess I did," through gritted teeth.

"Well, I could give you the good news and the bad news, except there is no bad news. The good news is: you're about to make a lot of money."

"I got a job, Doc," Jeongguk tries.

"Yeah, but why slave away delivering _Goodfellas_ ' pizzas just to afford a night out here when you could make all that dough with a _great_ fella? Me," Doc smiled at him so fakely, Jeongguk wondered how easy it would be to draw his fist back and knock his teeth out.

He decided against it, though.

And _of course_ Doc knew what Jeongguk was doing every second of every day of his life. He's known since the day he first met the younger man.

"And take your little date out for dinner every night of the fucking week?" Doc continued. "You paid off your debt. Now it's time to profit. This is the fun bit, Baby. By the time this job is over, you'll be rolling in money; Buying Maseratis and feeding your man catfish dipped in gold. So what d'you say? You in?"

"Am I in?"

"No, don't answer my question with another question. You give me one of two replies: yes or no."

"No, Doc."

"You know I never do a job with the exact same crew twice, right?" Doc asked him then. 

"Yes."

"And you also know you've been my driver for every job since we met?"

"Yes."

"So I'm thinking that you are my lucky charm and that I'm not doing this job without you. Now, I don't think I need to give you the speech about what happens when you say 'no'; How I could break your legs and kill everyone you love because you already know that, don't you?"

"Yeah," Jeongguk's jaw remains set in anger.

He should've fucking known.

"So what's it gonna be: behind the wheel or in a wheelchair?"

"The first one."

Doc nods, satisfied with that answer.

"I'll pick you up in the morning. Don't stay out too late, now," he turns to leave when the valet drives his car up before pausing to add, "oh, and your little boyfriend from the diner? He's cute. Let's keep it that way."

Jeongguk doesn't even really have time to react to that because Doc's getting into his car and Taehyung is waiting for him inside.

\---

"Well, that was some pretty fine wining and dining," Tae tells Jeongguk honestly when they pull up outside of Taehyung's place. "Must have some friends in pretty high places to get a table there."

Taehyung doesn't want to go inside. He doesn't want to get out of the car. He wants to stay here with this boy and avoid all of his problems for as long as he possibly can.

"I dunno about that," Jeongguk shrugged to seem modest, but he was actually just trying to hide how angry he really was. 

Not with Taehyung, of course. _Never_ with Taehyung.

Jeongguk was just.. _angry_.

"Is everything okay, Baby?" Tae gently asks after a moment of silence had fallen over them.

"It will be," Jeongguk says, more to convince himself than anything really.

When he (finally) looks over at Taehyung who's sat in the passenger seat of his car, he smiles warmly.

Jeongguk didn't think he'd see the day when his passenger was just an ordinary person instead of a murderer, thief, and/or whatever else.

It felt nice to be ordinary.

"You want to talk about it? I make a mean cup of coffee," Tae jokes before he admits, "I mean, I-I don't.. I make _terrible_ coffee.."

"I want to, but I.. I can't right now," Jeongguk says quietly and Taehyung can tell he's being honest, that he actually wants to spend time with him.

But there's something about Jeongguk's tone of voice and his solemn expression that makes Taehyung's heart ache.

"You know.." Tae tries to find the right words and shakes his head, "you don't have to worry about me. You can tell me anything."

"I'm not worried about you," Jeongguk lies and he realizes that came out wrong, so he explains, "you're the best thing that's happened to me in a long time.. and I just worry that I'm not good enough for you."

And he isn't saying that he wouldn't make a good significant other because he'd absolutely _worship_ Taehyung if given the chance.

It's the web of shit he's been caught up in since he was a kid that makes him think he's no good for Taehyung.

No good for _anybody_.

"Well, don't.." Tae tells him, leaning against the center console to get Jeongguk to look at him again.

"I can see that you're kind and you're different.." he brings a hand up to Jeongguk's cheek, gently tracing his thumb over the scar there. He's curious about its origin story, but he saves that thought for a different time.

"I'm here for you.. whenever you're ready," he promises.

So Jeongguk seizes the moment, worried that he won't get another opportunity, and leans in to kiss Taehyung's plump lips. 

Tae's face is pink when Jeongguk pulls away to ask him, just above a whisper, "what are you doing tomorrow?"

Taehyung has literally nothing to lose.

"You tell me," he gently bites into his lower lip, and Jeongguk has no doubt in his mind that he's looking at the love of his life.


	6. five

Jeongguk woke up the next morning to loud honking in the street.

He pulled back the curtains on his bedroom window to survey the area and it didn't take long for him to notice Doc leaning against his car across the street. He waved when Jeongguk finally noticed him, but Jeongguk didn't wave back.

He just closed the curtains and rushed to get dressed--without forgetting an iPod and his headphones, of course.

"Good morning," Doc greets him when he slides onto the passenger seat.

Jeongguk doesn't respond, but Doc is used to that.

He drives Jeongguk to a _United States Postal Service_ building downtown and parks across the street from the entrance.

Jeongguk doesn't need to be told that he's going to be getaway driving from this place in the near future.

"These places never get rolled. People don't realize that there's gold in those hills and those that do, don't have the stones to pull off a job so public in the hub of it," Doc tells him as they stare at the building. "This place'll be ripe around tomorrow, but I need you to do something for me today. I can't be seen in there, but you can, so go inside."

Jeongguk wasn't really expecting to hear that.

Usually Doc had people for gathering intel (or whatever this was).

"Take note of the number of cameras and their positions, the number of registers open, the number of employees, and the number of customers," Doc continued without pausing.

Jeongguk absorbed every bit of the information with the same blank expression on his face as always.

"Is there a guard? Is he armed? Do they have bandit glass? And get in line, buy some stamps. Take your buds out, pull your shades off. Oh, and uh, take my nephew. Less suspicious," Doc gestures to the backseat where (what looks to be) an eight-year-old boy sits playing on a PSP.

Jeongguk doesn't know how he didn't notice the boy sooner. He was pretty quiet, Jeongguk will give the kid that much, but he still should've noticed.

What if it had been someone else entirely sitting right over his shoulder? Jeongguk should've been prepared for that.

Now is not the time for him to be off his game.

He takes off his sunglasses as he exits the car with the little boy and when he wraps his headphones around his iPod and stuffs it in his pocket, his ears ring.

It's kind of quiet, but it's _definitely_ there and _definitely_ going to throw him even further off his game.

Nevertheless, he tries to ignore it when the kid starts leading him inside, holding the door open for Jeongguk with an expectant look on his face.

They casually join one of the lines (to get some stamps, apparently) and Jeongguk takes a glance around.

There's a guard standing a few feet behind him.

He looks forward again, not without catching sight of a few cameras mounted to the ceiling.

He starts counting them, but Doc's nephew interrupts by tugging on Jeongguk's jacket sleeve.

So Jeongguk looks down at the boy who whispers to him, "no bandit glass, one armed guard, ten cameras, eight registers, two open, eleven customers, and four employees," before returning to his video game.

"Thank you," Jeongguk tells him just as quietly and his brows furrow a little for two reasons: 1) Doc must've had this kid doing things like this all the time and 2) he really needed to snap out of whatever it was that was keeping him from performing well for Doc.

"I can help who's next," the lady at the register before them offers Jeongguk a polite smile and he leads the boy up to the counter.

"Uh.. stamps? Please," Jeongguk hands over a few bills and tries his best to hear the woman over all the ringing.

"That your boy?" she asks curiously as she rings up his purchase.

"Sure," he replies without thinking before quickly adding, "yeah, he sure is."

"How old is he?"

"Eight."

"Ten," the boy corrects without looking away from his game.

"They grow up so freakin' fast, don't they?" Jeongguk's cheeks feel hot and he hopes he doesn't look as clammy as he feels.

The woman behind the counter just laughs a little as she hands over the stamps.

"Does he have a name?"

"You have a name, don't you?" Jeongguk mumbles to the boy who quickly gives his name.

"Sam."

"Well, Sam, I got a mint with your name on it."

"You have a mint.. that says 'Sam'?" he asks as if she's serious.

This kid's clearly been forced to grow up a bit too fast.

"Aw. Sweet," she replies as she hands Sam mint, thinking he was just another naïve little kid.

So Jeongguk asks her, "are you here tomorrow?" because he really hopes she won't be.

"Sure am. Working 9:00 to 5:00, just like Dolly."

"Oh, Dolly Parton. Yeah," he offers her a smile at the reference, but in reality, he's feeling guilt in his chest because this lady has no idea what's in store for her and the other employees come tomorrow afternoon.

**\---**

"Hit me," is all Doc says when Jeongguk returns to the car with Sam.

He's still staring at the _USPS_ building.

"No bandit glass, one armed guard, ten cameras, eight registers, three open, and uh, eleven customers."

Sam sniffles in the backseat so Jeongguk glances back at him.

Sam holds up four fingers and Jeongguk suddenly remembers, "and four employees."

"Anything else?" Doc asks.

"The teller seemed nice."

"She gave me a mint," Sam shows it off proudly.

"Did she?" Doc asks as if he really cares.

"Yeah," Sam nods. "You probably wouldn't even need to use a gun with her. Just say 'boo' and she'll give you the big bills first."

"Chip off the old block," Doc smirks at the concerned expression on Jeongguk's face. So Jeongguk just puts his earbuds back in and drowns the rest of the world out until they make it back to his apartment complex.

Doc gets out of the car and walks inside with him.   
It makes Jeongguk feel extremely uneasy.

"What floor are you on?"

"Third," Jeongguk answers reluctantly.

"Those stairs must be a real bitch for Joe, huh?" Doc says and Jeongguk absentmindedly clenches his fists at the thought of Doc hurting his wheelchair-bound foster father. "It's my business to know everything. So, are they a bitch?"

"There's an elevator," Jeongguk gestures to it.

"Ooh, fancy," Doc jokes as he turns and presses the 'up' button for Jeongguk. "So, am I gonna see you tonight?"

"Yes, you will."

"You're not just saying what you think I want to hear, right?" Doc asks. "You consider me a friend, don't you?"

"You and I are a team," Jeongguk quotes the movie _Monsters Inc_. "Nothing is more important than our friendship."

"Good to know," Doc nods. Then he gestures to their surroundings, "you'll be out of this shit hole soon. You're going up in the world!"

He leaves Jeongguk with a pat to the chest when the elevator finally 'dings'.

Jeongguk stays in the lobby until Doc reaches his car and drives away,   
then takes the stairs up to his apartment.

**\---**

"Bo's Diner, what'll you have?"

"Is Taehyung there?"Jeongguk asks.

"Tae. Phone," the chef calls for him with an irritated tone of voice. When Taehyung enters the kitchen with a raised brow, he hands Tae the phone and mutters, "keep it short."

Taehyung watches the chef wander back over to the grill before raising the phone to his ear. "Hello?"

"It's Baby," Jeongguk says and Taehyung smiles warmly at the sound of his voice.

"Hey. To what do I owe this honor?"

"Just wanted to hear your voice."

Taehyung feels his heart pounding away in his chest.  
"Am I still seeing you later?"

"..I have to drive again," Jeongguk admits hesitantly.

"Oh.. okay," Taehyung's brows furrow sadly at that, "thought you guys were done with that.."

"So did I," Jeongguk sighs, "it's not what I want."

"And what do you want, Baby?"

"I want us to head west on 20.. in a car we can't afford.. with a plan we don't have," Jeongguk tells him and he's being completely serious. Taehyung can tell by the way he says it. "Keep driving and never stop.."

"You're serious?" Tae asks even though he's sure he already knows the answer.

"I am, Taehyung," he nods. "You in?"

"I'm in, Baby.." Taehyung doesn't need convincing. If they can get out of this town _and_ away from whatever's troubling Jeongguk, then Taehyung's all for it.

"See you soon."


	7. six

"There he is," Doc smiles from where he's writing on the chalkboard when Jeongguk finally joins him, Darling, Buddy, and Bats at HQ.

"Hey, Baby," Darling greets with a genuine smile from her seat at the table.

"Hey, Baby," Buddy hums from beside her.

"Hear-no-evil's back, huh?" Bats mutters, across the table from the couple.

"Have you seen this kid move?" Buddy raises a brow at the guy.

"Yeah, I seen him," Bats answers. "Think Doc likes having him around because he can park in the disabled spots by the bank."

"Disabled spots?" Darling asks.

"He got some shit wrong with his ears. Tinnitus or something," Bats tells her. "Anyway, he's gotta listen to music 24 hours a day to drown out the whining in his ears."

"Oh, shit.." Darling says sympathetically as they all glance over at Jeongguk like he won't notice them staring. "You know who else has the exact same thing and does that exact same thing? Barbara Streisand."

"Darling, do I look like I know a fuckin' thing about Barbara fuckin' Streisand?"

"Hey, watch your mouth. That's my lady you're talking to," Buddy chimes in.

"Yeah," Darling stands from her chair. "Watch your mouth," she sends a not-so-friendly wink toward Bats before walking off.

"I'll watch what I wanna watch," he says, eyeing her ass while she walks over, pats Jeongguk's shoulder supportively, and leaves the room.

"That true?" Buddy asks Jeongguk as he stands. "That why you have your music all the time? Drown out the noise?"

"Yeah," Jeongguk answers, "keeps me moving."

"It's an escape. I get it."

"Hey, Buddy, you seen my violin? I had a violin here," Bats jokes.

"Shut up," Buddy shakes his head at him as he takes a seat beside Jeongguk. "I used to mess around with cars when I was a kid.. drive around all night like a speed freak while I listened to the radio. I used to have my special tape that had my killer track on it. You know? The track that gets you flying. You got one of those?"

"Sure," Jeongguk nods because there's about a thousand songs that come to mind when Buddy asks this.

"Well, what is it?"

" _Brighton Rock_."

"What? _Queen_?" Buddy raises his brows, impressed by Jeongguk's answer. He just nods in response, so Buddy continues, "got that crazy big guitar solo. I know that one. My brother used to play _Sheer Heart Attack_ through the wall. You got it on here?" he points to Jeongguk's iPod.

"I got it on this one," Jeongguk reaches into his pocket for a different iPod.

"Play it. Let's hear that killer track."

So Jeongguk quickly scrolls through and finds _Brighton Rock_ , hitting play as Buddy takes one of his earbuds to listen.

"What you ladies listening to?" Bats' brows furrow when he sees the pair nodding their heads to the music.

" _Queen_ ," Jeongguk and Buddy say in unison.

" _Queen_? First Streisand, now _Queen_? What the fuck? What y'all gonna do? Y'all gonna belt out show tunes on the way to the job? You don't need a score for a score," he shakes his head. "You just put your fucking foot on the gas and drive the goddamn car. That's all the music you need, folks."

"Come on, now," Buddy pulls the earbud away from his ear. "You never been a wheelman? You never had a lucky song?"

"Well, a cigarette song," Bats shrugged, "aprés-heist, glass of scotch, _absolutely_. But not before a job." He points to his temple then and says, "I got enough demons right here playing music all the time.

"Well, _that_ I believe," Buddy mutters.

"Had a buddy once walk away from a job. You know why?" Bats asks and doesn't give a chance for anybody to reply, "because something was playing on the radio that he didn't like. We're 'bout to go in and he won't get out the fucking car. Why? 'Cause _Knock, Knock, Knockin' On Heaven's Door_ was playing on the FM. He called it a 'hex song'. That one, _End of the Road_ by Boyz II Men, and _Hotel California_ by The Eagles. He called 'em all hex songs. Then starts cryin' about some crazy shit like 'we all gonna die'."

"So what? You bail on the job?" Buddy asks.

"Fuck no, I didn't bail on the job," Bats scoffs, "I went and got that money and we didn't die, either. I mean, he bit it a little later, but that had nothing to do with the heist."

"Do all your stories end up with somebody dying?" Buddy asks.

"I guess you just gotta find out, huh?"

Doc lets his palms smack against the table to get everyone's attention and Darling returns just in time for debriefing.

"I need four pairs of eyes and three pairs of ears. Gather around," Doc announces once he's finished drawing up the plans on the board. "The postal service is dying. People don't care about their mail anymore. Lucky for us, their loss is our gain; Money orders. For I happen to know a guy who has a machine that can turn blank ones into green."

He continues to explain, "each box contains 250 slips, each slip worth up to a grand, that's a quarter million per box. Dot, dot, dot. You do the math. Darling goes in the front, Buddy takes a five-alligator count and follows her inside. You put on these privacy glasses to blind the CCTV camera," he brings up said pair of glasses to show Buddy how they light up.   
"Another five-alligator count. Darling gets in line, Buddy takes her hostage; Shotgun to the head. That gets you guys in the back office."

"We role-play that a lot," Darling bites into her lower lip.

"Baby drives Bats around the loading dock, Bats uses this security card, supplied by an insider with a nasal problem, to get in the staff entrance and cover the rear," Doc continues explaining as Jeongguk rolls a toy car back and forth on the table in front of him. "You guys grab all the boxes and then sneak out the back to Baby and the waiting car."

Jeongguk pulls the toy car back, winding it up, before releasing it. It zooms off the edge of the table and onto the floor, making everyone look back at him.

"Did you get all that, Baby?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, one more thing," Doc nods. "We need some fresh hardware, not traceable to us or any previous jobs. Now, I've got some contacts who can get us some clean firepower, so the pickup is tonight. But after the pickup, you come straight back here. You all have an early start in the morning and there's eyes everywhere, so you're staying the night here."

"Oh, great.. we in bed together now," Bats grumbles under his breath.

**\---**

" _Nowhere to run to, baby.. Nowhere to hide.._ " Darling sings along to a song on the radio before their mission, from her spot beside Buddy in the backseat of their getaway car.

Bats glances back at her from the passenger seat with a raised brow, but she continues singing, unbothered. Even if the lyrics were a hitting a bit too close to home for Jeongguk.

"Pull over there. I gotta take a leak," Bats tells Jeongguk, so he pulls into the next gas station parking lot. "You want some gum, Buddy?" Bats asks as he's about to get out.

"Yeah, I'll take some gum."

"Tell me what we're gonna do with all that money," Darling hums once Bats is gone.

Buddy pulls her into his lap and kisses down her neck.   
"We're gonna go to Vegas. We'll put it all on red," he tells her. "We'll get married again. It'll be real romantic."

"Mm. You know what was real, _real_ romantic? When you stabbed that guy."

"Which guy? The guy that robbed you, the guy that called you a whore, or the guy that looked at you funny?"

Darling giggles, "the last one."

"Yeah, I do remember that one."

"Bats just looked at me funny," her smile fades as she looks Buddy in the eye.

"You want me to kill Bats?"

"Not before the job, silly."

"You think we should talk about this in front of Baby?"

"He won't say anything. Will you, Baby?" Darling asks him as if he has the guts to tell her 'no'.

Bats returns to the car then, dumping several boxes of gum in Buddy's lap.

"Jesus, what the fuck? You rob the whole store?" Buddy asks.

"You said you wanted some gum. Fuck am I supposed to do, pay for it? Let's go."

Jeongguk looks through the convenience store window that he had just seen the cashier through only moments ago, only to find nobody standing behind the counter.

**\---**

"Looks like the farmers' market is open," Bats comments when they arrive at their destination.

A large chainlink fence blocks the car from entry until the gates are pulled open by the gang bangers standing guard beside them.

"Farmers' market?" Darling asks.

"Yeah. Doc says we gotta go see The Butcher," he told her.

Jeongguk rolls the driver's side windows down when one of the guards shines a flashlight at them. He glances at all four of their faces (whilst momentarily blinding them with the light) before letting them through.

They pull up outside of what looks like a barn and Jeongguk stops the car to let everyone out.

Bats walks around and knocks on Jeongguk's window.  
"Come on. You're goin' in with us. We might not be leaving in this."

Jeongguk hesitates, before remembering that he doesn't have time to hesitate, and steps out of the car when Bats opens the door.

"And uh, find somethin' funky on there," Bats points to Jeongguk's iPod, "in case we gotta rip this joint up."

So Jeongguk scrolls through his songs and finally settles on one while Bats hands out weapons.

"Take this. Act like you know how to use it," Bats hands Jeongguk his handgun.

"Why would _he_ need it?" Buddy asks curiously.

"Gotta swagger in like you got one so we don't all look like a bunch of pussies," Bats answers, "Darling excluded."

"What's with the earbuds? You recording this or somethin'?"

Jeongguk's gaze snaps to a man up ahead of them.

"Just music," Buddy explains for him.

"Yeah, he's loony. Just likes his tunes," Bats adds.

"What's he listening to?" the same guy asks.

"How the fuck should I know?" Bats shrugs. "Let me check," he pulls out one of Jeongguk's headphones and holds it up to hear for himself. " _Tequila_!" he jokingly cheers. "Which reminds me: why'd the Mexican dude throw his wife off the cliff?"  
He snaps his fingers and shakes his head then, "ah! I ruined it. Didn't I ruin it?"

"We've met before, right?" the man's eyes narrow at Bats.

"I dunno. You still alive, right?"

"Uh huh."

"Then I guess that we ain't never met," Bats shrugs, making a few of the other men laugh. Though Bats is sure he's seen a lot of these guys elsewhere before.

"Shut the fuck up!"

"I've got it, I've got it," an older man in an all white suit approaches them; The Butcher.

"Viola!" he pulls the cover off of a boxful of artillery. "Welcome to _La Charcuterie_. Tonight, gentlemen, _madame_.." he winks at Darling, "we have only the finest cuts of pork, direct from the local smokehouse. You're all experience butchers yourself, so I assume you are aware that the humble pig can be cooked from nose to tail, everything but the squeal. I can offer you nine cuts at the best prices in all of christendom." 

The Butcher continues on as Bats and the others survey the different types of guns and ammunition before them.

"Let's dive in head-first. From the jowl comes the godsent Roman bacon that is guanciale. From the shoulder of the hog comes the Boston butt, a tough but tasty cut. The picnic shoulder is a favorite of those who enjoy the smoking of pigs. The center-cut loin, the double-cut pork chops, baby back ribs, and the serrano ham on the back leg, of course. All delicious."

"Delicious," Bats nods now that he's figured out where he's seen all these guys before.

"And, of course, we have a fine selection of sausages," The Butcher gestures to a case full of hand grenades.

"Well, I'm hungry," Bats smiles.

"Fantastique! And your choice is..?"

"Well, I'm gonna go with the picnic shoulder, 'cause I just love smokin' pigs," he's quick to raise his gun and shoot The Butcher to kill.

With the help of Darling and Buddy, Bats manages to clear the entire building of The Butcher's henchmen in just a few short moments.

"Done deal," Bats smiles down at The Butcher's lifeless body.

"You dumb son of a bitch," Buddy mutters as he walks up and swings on Bats who ducks to avoid being hit. "Fuck, Bats! You almost got my wife shot! I don't fuck with that!" 

"Relax, Buddy! You handled it!" Bats holds him off.

"What the fuck, you piece of shit?! You shot the gunsmiths!" Darling shouts at Bats. "Weren't they Doc's fucking contacts?!"

"They _were_ Doc's contacts!" Bats shouts back at both of them. "And guess what? They was pigs! Look at the box, it says ' _APD'_! I clocked that tall strip of bacon with that fake-ass Louis Vuitton hat right off the bat. He busted me back in '98. Now, I don't know about you lovebirds fuckin' without a condom, but when somebody's gettin' ready to barbecue me, I go full-metal batshit on 'em!"

"Oh, shit!" Darling gasps when Bats is tackled by one of The Butcher's henchmen.   
He must've been hiding, waiting for the right moment to strike.

He shoves Buddy into Darling and runs towards the exit.

"Baby, don't let him get away!" Bats shouts at Jeongguk who had been standing idly a few yards away. "Do somethin'! Get him!"

Jeongguk is pushed to the ground before he can raise his gun to take a shot.   
Not that he really wanted to anyway.

"Shit!" Bats groans when the guy manages to get to one of the many SUVs parked inside the building. Bats raises one of the assault rifles from the box and sprays the vehicle with bullets.

Jeongguk stays low in order to avoid getting shot while the SUV reverses into a pillar with the driver laying lifeless against the steering wheel.

"Get us out of here, Baby. Let's move," Bats says when Jeongguk finally stands up. "C'mon! Move!"

Jeongguk rushes to climb into the driver's seat of a different SUV while the other three members of the crew collect a few weapons from the crate.

Bats even snatched a grenade.

As they make their exit, he tosses it into the window of the car he'd just obliterated a few moments before, sending the entire building, and everything left in it, up in flames. 

_Or so they thought_.


	8. seven

"Bats, you are fucking _crazy_!" Buddy says from the backseat of the getaway car.

"When your folks name you Bats, you gonna end up crazy," Bats replies to that from the passenger seat.

"I don't doubt you're crazy, but your real name is not Bats."

"Says you."

"You think my real name's Darling?" she chimes in.

"Yeah, or Buddy?" he adds. "No. They're nicknames.. _code_ names, monikers!"

"So, what's your real name then, Darling?" Bats turns his head to look at her.

"Monica," she answers flatly. Then shortly after, "hey, I thought we weren't allowed to discuss names," 

"We're not," Bats shrugs simply, then looks over at Jeongguk who, as per usual, hasn't said a word the entire drive. "Baby, what's your real name?"

Jeongguk stays silent. He doesn't have his music and he doesn't even _think_ about replying. He just wants to get home, away from these people.

"Huh?" Bats tries, but Jeongguk's like a statue. "Stop up here," he says then, making Jeongguk glance up at the building in question: Bo's Diner. "Stop here," Bats repeats. "I said 'stop', I'm hungry."

"No," Jeongguk mutters because there's no way in Hell he's bringing these people anywhere near Taehyung.

"Stop the car!" Bats shouts and Jeongguk clenches his jaw as they screech to a halt on the side of the road. "You telling me 'no'?"

"I don't want to go in there," Jeongguk decides is enough of an explanation.

Bats scoffs.   
"Well, _hello_ , Baby. Bodies hit the floor back there, you don't say shit. Now all of a sudden, you gettin' riled up about stopping at a diner?" he glances out of his window at it.

"I don't want to go in there," Jeongguk makes eye contact this time and adds, "it sucks," in attempts to persuade Bats out of his decision to stop here.

"Well, with that recommendation, we _gots_ to go in now," Bats laughs. 

**\---**

Taehyung looks so lovely standing there behind the counter in his little uniform, Jeongguk thinks. 

The way Tae smiles at him when he walks in this time makes Jeongguk happy for a fraction of a second.

He wants to smile back, to strike up a conversation with Taehyung as he would any other time he came around.  
But he can't do that now. He can't let his crew know anything about his personal life. _Anything_.

So he's forced to keep a straight face as he leads Bats, Darling, and Buddy to a booth by the front windows. He doesn't miss the way Taehyung's smile drops.   
He feels his heart do the same simultaneously.

"Now, why y'all so mad? You should be thanking ol' Bats," Bats smirks from where he's sandwiched Jeongguk between himself and the window in the booth.

"For being a walking fucking death wish?" Buddy mutters from the opposite side of the table.

"Well, I treat all of my jobs like it's my last."

"Yeah, but what you do within the group affects all of us," Buddy lectures him. 

"Fine, cowboy. You're gonna get your money tomorrow. Plus, uh.. I know you guys got noses to feed," Bats pretends to sniffle.

Buddy scoffs at that and gets defensive.  
"Yeah, like _you're_ Mr. Clean," he says sarcastically.

"I'm Mr. Whatever the fuck I wanna be."

Taehyung suddenly appears in front of the table and clears his throat, "can I get you anything to drink?"

"Yeah, I think it'll be Coke all around, right?" Bats asks the rest of the crew as if he actually gives a shit.

When Taehyung glances at Jeongguk, he's already staring up at him. 

"Four Cokes?" Taehyung makes sure he's got it right, earning a nod from Bats before wandering off to complete the order.

"Look here's the deal," Bats continues his conversation with Buddy. "You rob to support a drug habit. I do drugs to support a robbery habit."

"That's clever," Buddy doesn't even bother to sound enthusiastic.

"That's my job, see? It's you two that's on vacation," Bats gestures between the married couple.

"So you doubt our credentials?" Buddy raises a brow at that while Darling just glares.

"Wall Street, right?"

"Doc tell you that?" Buddy's brows furrow.

"Doc ain't tell me shit," Bats shakes his head, "just an educated guess from an uneducated man."

"Well, Bats, I would be fascinated to hear your thoughts on the matter."

"Tell me if I'm way off, Buddy," Bats begins with a smirk, "you were a stockbroker. Maybe a different wife, maybe kids. You stack your paper and you say shit like, 'work hard, play harder', but you play a little too hard. You rack up debt, the type of debt that'd make a white man blush. Maybe you get into some trouble. Maybe you get your hand caught in the corporate cookie jar. Maybe you leave and run off to the desert. Maybe with your favorite lap dancer. Maybe you disappear into a world consisting of three things: money, sex, drugs and action," Bats counts each item and realizes, "shit, that's four."

Buddy and Darling are practically steaming in their seats across the table. 

"Am I close?" Bats tilts his head.

Buddy doesn't answer. He doesn't need to.  
Bats knows him and Darling like the backs of his hands.

"Look, I get it. You guys think this is just some kind of trip. Either way, if you _are_ Wall Street, you're a bigger fucking crook than I could ever be."

"I'm gonna go right ahead and speak for the two of us," Darling takes Buddy's hand in hers and smiles at him. "You think you know us," she glares at Bats again, "you don't."

Bats hums in response.

"You think you're the last word in crazy," Darling continues with a sickening smile, "you're not. And believe me when I tell you, you don't want to see my Buddy mad. You haven't seen how relentless he is.. because when he sees red, you will see nothin' but _black_."

Bats immediately applauds her, his obnoxious clapping sounds echoing throughout the diner.

"You hear that, speedy?" Bats asks Jeongguk. "That's some Oscar shit right there! That was nice. Did you rehearse that? You see this shit, Baby?" he claps Jeongguk on the shoulder like they're good friends, "this is a prime example of a man who loves a woman. You guys are perfect for each other. I mean that."

The crew goes silent when Taehyung returns with their drinks, setting one glass in front of each person.   
"Well, what can I get you to eat?" he asks as Bats takes a sip of his Coke. Buddy hasn't looked away from Bats.

"Get these cats some Happy Meals and I'm gonna take care of the bill, uh-- _Taehyung_ ," Bats reads aloud and Jeongguk's gaze immediately moves to Taehyung's new name tag.

He's no longer Jonathan.  
 _Fuck._

"Yo, my friend here said he doesn't like this place," Bats tells Tae and Jeongguk cringes, "but I think this place is kind of nice, you know? So let me ask you somethin', Taehyung."  
He grabs Jeongguk by the shoulder again and pulls him closer, "what's his problem?"

Taehyung brows are furrowed and he doesn't know how to respond. He just says, "maybe your friend would like to fill out a suggestion slip? Tell us how to _improve our service_ ," he pulls one of the slips from his apron and slaps it, along with the check, down on the table in front of Jeongguk before walking away again.

"Baby, you know that dick?" Bats asks once Tae's out of earshot. 

"No," Jeongguk answers.

"Okay. Let's bounce," Bats slides out of the booth with a hand in his pocket. "I'll take care of this," he says quietly as he draws his gun.

Jeongguk's eyes widen and he's quick to grab the barrel of it, standing from the booth and staring Bats in the eye.

"What the fuck is your problem?" Bats asks him quietly. "Hm?"

Jeongguk doesn't speak, just looks over Bats' shoulder at Taehyung who's working behind the counter, completely oblivious to what's happening only a few feet away.

Bats glances back at the waiter and nods. "Okay," he tells Jeongguk. "Well, make sure you tip the nice boy."

Darling and Buddy stand from the booth and lead the way out before Bats can make any more of a scene.

Jeongguk leaves the check with Taehyung, as well as an unnecessarily large tip. He doesn't say anything, but he maintains the eye contact when he slides a folded napkin across the counter as well.

Taehyung looks like he wants to cry.  
Jeongguk knows he most likely appears the same way.

When Jeongguk and his.. _friends_ are gone, Taehyung finally unfolds the napkin that reads:

' _road trip. 2am._ '

**\---**

"Bananas," Doc greets the four members of his crew once they've finally returned to HQ. "'Bananas' is a code word. Whenever a deal is done with one of my clients, they call me on the phone, they say the word 'bananas', and then they hang up. I did not hear the word 'bananas' tonight. So you tell me who died."

"Well, your contacts was cops, Doc," Bats explains.

"I know. They were my cops."

"Yeah, well, they fired first," Bats lies, "and I'm sure as Hell not taking a bullet for _you_ or _anybody_ _else_ in this motherfucker."

"Is that true?" Doc asks Buddy. "They fired first?"

"Yeah," Buddy goes along with it, so Darling nods as well.

Doc stands from his seat then and walks until his face is inches from Bats. Then he turns his head to look at Jeongguk (who finally has his music again).

"Baby?" he asks.

"Ask somebody on the planet Earth," Bats shakes his head.

"I will ask whoever the fuck I want," Doc snaps before adding, "go home. Job's off."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait a minute," Buddy's brows furrow.

"No. What the fuck?" Darling adds.

"We are 24 hours from being descended upon by this entire city," Doc tells them. 

"Those pigs are in hog heaven," Bats says, "the only way they can ID us is with a ouija board or some shit."

"Well, your name only takes four letters to spell out."

"Doc, 'Bats' ain't my real fuckin' name."

"It's over, _Leon_ ," Doc seethes, making Bats' jaw and fists clench. "Get outta town."

"Wow," Bats mutters. "Well, I ain't runnin', Doc. I say we drive into the storm. Ride the hurricane. We could be on a non-extradition beach, drinking non-extradition cocktails, counting our non-extradition cash in 23 hours." 

"And who do we get to fence those money orders since you _shot_ _the fence_?"

"Buddy got a guy," Bats says. "I mean, I'm just taking a wild guess here, but Buddy got a guy. Ain't that right, Wall Street?"

Buddy sighs heavily, "yeah, I got a guy."

"So, let's fucking do this," Darling shakes her head as if wondering why they haven't already started.

"I only hear _three_ voices and the last time I checked, there's _four_ in a car," Doc stares directly at Jeongguk. "Baby? Your call. Time to make a big boy decision. Do we do this thing or not?" 

"He's out-voted. We doin' it," Bats interjects.

"Let him speak."

"I say we all get some sleep," Jeongguk sounds pretty convincing, "get ready for this fuckin' thing."

Bats and Buddy share similar looks of confusion because where did _that_ come from?


	9. eight

Jeongguk stares around the room at his sleeping partners in crime and when his watch strikes two AM, he finally pushes himself out of bed. However, he's unable to shake the unnerving feeling that something is going to go horribly wrong. Even more so than things already had been.

He sneaks out and over to the parking garage in his attempt to escape, mapping out the route to the diner in his head the moment he starts up the truck.

As he accelerates and pulls around the corner, there Buddy stands dead center in the driveway, blocking Jeongguk from moving any further and simultaneously making him stomp on the brakes instinctively.

He swallows thickly as Buddy rounds the hood of the truck and stares at him through the driver's side window. Jeongguk rolls it down, knowing that if he chose to accelerate now, this could all play out a lot worse for him later on.

So Jeongguk keeps a straight face as Buddy leans against the door nonchalantly.

"Where you goin', Baby?" he asks and stares at him like a disappointed father would stare at his son for sneaking out of the house.

"Coffee."

"At two AM? That doesn't sound smart," Buddy tells him. "You fucking kidding me? I got enough on my plate worrying about Bats. I gotta worry about you, too, now?"

Jeongguk doesn't say anything.

"You know what? Do me a favor. If you're gonna mail it in at the post office tomorrow, then go on your little caffeine run and don't come back. If you're just in this for the buzz, if driving is just some kind of _escape_ for you, then _go_."

Suddenly the passenger side door is being ripped open and the seat is being taken by Bats.

"What y'all doin' in here? Huh?"

"Just making sure everything's ready for tomorrow," Buddy tells him. 

"Well uh, it looks like he's goin' somewhere at two o'clock in the morning," Bats shuts the door and looks at Jeongguk. "Are you?"

"No," Jeongguk replies.

"Good. That's good," Bats nods, then reaches into his pocket to retrieve what turns out to be Jeongguk's tape recorder. "'Cause we gotta discuss this."

Bats presses 'play' and Docs voice can be heard in Jeongguk's recording of their last meeting.

_"Baby? Your call. Time to make a big boy decision. Do we do this thing or not?"_

Bats presses 'stop.'

"Now why you wanna go and do that?" Bats asks Jeongguk as if he really cares to know. Jeongguk knows they all wish they could just kill him to save themselves all the trouble.

"It's just me messing around. I like to record stuff."

Then Bats' gun is in his face. "Why you like to record stuff? You the police? Supposed to squeal on the road, not to the cops."

"Speak up, Baby," Buddy raises his voice.

"I.. I like to listen back to the conversations. I make music out of the words.. songs, mixes.. it's just something that I do."

"That's one fucking dumbass excuse," Bats laughs shortly. 

"To be fair, even the cops couldn't come up with an excuse that fucking dumb," Buddy shakes his head after removing his palm from his face. "Can you play us one of your mixes?" Buddy asks, condescendingly.

"I can't-- They're just-- They're at home."

"Well it looks like we're all going somewhere at two in the morning, then," Bats' jaw sets. "Come on," he looks at Jeongguk, then at the steering wheel.

"I live really far away."

"No you don't," Bats knocks him out in the next second.

**\---**

"Wake up, Baby!"

Jeongguk's head is pounding the instant he regains consciousness because Doc has bounced his skull against the table _hard_.

Blood drips from his nostril.

"Time to explain," Doc proceeds to dump out a duffle full of Jeongguks tapes. The entire table is covered in cassettes.

They broke into his home while he was out like a light.

"Joe!" Jeongguk stands from the seat he's been sat in only to be grabbed by the shoulder and shoved back down into it. "Where is he?! What did you do to him?!"

"Oh, the cripple?" Bats zips into the room, _sitting in Joseph's wheelchair._ "Oh, don't worry about him! He's good. He ain't goin' nowhere."

"Why don't you play us something, Baby?" Buddy stands with his arms crossed, glaring down at him.

Jeongguk swallows the last drop of his pride, grabs ' _Was He Slow?_ ' from the pile of cassettes, and slams it into the player.

As the remix played, each member of the team, including Doc, shared looks of distaste and began to laugh.

Darling shakes her head, "now _this_ shit is bananas, Doc. B-A-N-A-N-A-S."

Doc grabs another tape from the table.   
A golden tape labeled ' _Taehyung_.'

Jeongguk can't help but shake in his seat.   
With anger? Anxiety? Fear? 

How about all of the above.

 _"Hello? Hello, testing,"_ Taehyung's voice is bittersweet amongst the ringing in Jeongguk's ears. _"It's Tae! Taehyung."_

"Taehyung.." Darling holds a finger in the air as if trying to recall something, "isn't that the waiter from that diner?"

"You said you didn't know that dick," Bats rolls closer to Jeongguk.

"Why would you say you didn't know him? Have you been talking to Taehyung about us?" Buddy leans against the table so he can stare Jeongguk in the eye.

"I don't say nothin'," Jeongguk shakes his head immediately.

"What about wheels?" Bats asks.

"He _can't_ say nothin'."

"Yeah, but he can read motherfucking lips, can't he?"

"Take this fool back to his shithole," Doc demands. "I'll find another driver for tomorrow."

"Doc, I'm available. I can take him where he needs to go, get him home safe," Bats stands at attention like a soldier reporting for duty, a bit _too_ eager for Jeongguk's liking.

So he stands as well and says to Doc, " _No_! You're _not_ getting a new driver. I've been on every job since we met."

He turns to Bats then, "I don't squeal to the cops, I squeal on the road. I'm not slow, I'm fast."

They all stare at him in silence.

" _I'm_ your driver tomorrow. I am. I'm driving," Jeongguk says it as if that's final.

"Well, you heard the kid," Darling laughs shortly, but she's simultaneously sort of impressed. "He's driving."

**\---**

"Remember, what's in there is ours. Belongs to us," Bats says as Jeongguk drives the team to the _United States Post Office_ downtown. "They got our money. They got our mama's jewels. So let's get in there and take back what's ours."

Darling takes the lead into the post office and Buddy follows suit after grabbing his shotgun from the trunk.

Jeongguk drives Bats around to the back side of the building, where the loading zones are, in order to secure the exit for Darling and Buddy to escape with the money.

Jeongguk sits in the car and watches a lady approach the loading zone. He waves at her to get her attention and when she makes eye contact with him, Jeongguk shakes his head at her as a warning.

She looks toward the loading zone before she begins to back away. Jeongguk sighs with the slightest bit of relief until she returns seconds later with a security guard. The guard approaches the getaway car and is about to knock on the window when Bats, Darling, and Buddy emerge from the bank with guns blazing and sirens blaring loudly in the background.

"Drop it!" the guard yells at Bats just before being shot in the chest. The woman Jeongguk tried to warn, screams at the frightening sight and runs away.

The team rushes back into the car and when Jeongguk just sits there, the three of them simultaneously shout a mantra of: "go!!! Let's go!!! What are you waiting for?! Move!!!"

"Drive the fucking car!!!" Bats shouts at Jeongguk who is hanging onto his last shred of sanity. He's bashed in the jaw with Bat's shotgun the next second. "You better move this fucking car before I blow your fucking head off!!! Three! Two! One--"

Jeongguk lets his foot drop on the pedal, sending the car straight into the tailgate of the pickup truck in front of them. The metal rebar rods sticking out of it pierce straight through the windshield... _and through Bats' chest..._ killing him almost instantly.

"Fuck!" Darling exclaims in horror from her spot directly behind Bats. Buddy swings his door open then and steps out, reaching for Darling's hand to pull her along. 

When Jeongguk steps out as well, Buddy grabs him by the collar and slams him against the side of the car. "What the fuck did you just do?!"

"I moved," Jeongguk says, jaw set and gaze burning directly into Buddy's eyes. 

Jeongguk truly felt that he had little left to lose at this point, and if he was going down, he was going to make sure the rest came down with him.

"I will fucking kill you!" Buddy shrieks.

"Jason!" Darling shouts at Buddy just as sirens and red & blue lights come screeching around the corner.

"Drop your weapons!"

As Buddy and Darling take a stand, shooting towards the cops, Jeongguk takes the opportunity and makes a break for it in the opposite direction. He puts his getaway skills to good use on foot, scaling platforms and stairs, sliding across a few car hoods until he's reached the mall downtown where he could easily lose himself among the civilians.

He zips in and out of a few stores, snatching a jean jacket, some shades, and a baseball cap before making a run for it through the emergency exit and back outside where he hot-wired a new vehicle as quickly as he possibly could.

On the way out of the parking lot, he manages to smack a few carts, and somehow miss any people, all before rear-ending a truck that's being driven by none other than Buddy and Darling.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me!" Buddy shouts when he realizes it's Jeongguk who's hit them. They both get out of the truck and walk over to Jeongguk's newly-acquired vehicle.

"This is _your_ mess! _Your_ fault! You get us the _fuck_ out of here!" Darling shouts at him as she rips the back door open.

"Put down your weapons!" a cop shouts at them over the intercom.

Darling turns around to try her luck at gunning them all down, only to be shot to death in the process.

Buddy, filled with rage and vengeance, murders three more cops as Jeongguk escapes the scene on foot once again, only this time he's got the bag full of cash with him.

As he approaches the closest car to him, Jeongguk holds up his gun and forces an elderly woman out of her car.

"Get out of the car. Now! Get out!"

"I'm getting out! Oh! I'm-- Oh, my God!" she trembles as she hurries to get out. In the heat of the moment, she forgets her bag in the passenger seat. "My purse!"   
Still she rushes over to hide behind a barrier.

She tries to gather her thoughts and catch her breath, but instead watches in confusion as Jeongguk takes a second to fiddle with the radio station before finally swinging the car around. He tosses the woman her purse from the passenger side window.

"I'm sorry, ma'am!" he shouts sincerely before speeding away.


	10. nine

Jeongguk rushed home to find his apartment a complete mess and his father lying on the floor, rendered immobile by Bats and Buddy.

"Joe!" it takes everything he has in him not to cry at the sight. "Joe! Joe, are you alright? I'm so sorry! This is all my fault!" Jeongguk rambles out even if Joseph can't hear him. 

Joseph stares up at his son with fear in his wide eyes and brings his hands up to sign, but Jeongguk doesn't have time to chat.

"We've got to get out of here, alright? Things are bad," Jeongguk says as he tries his best to help Joseph to his feet.

 _'I'm not blind!'_ Joe signs to him with a groan.

Jeongguk rushes over to the dining area, pushes the rug back, and peels up the floorboard to retrieve his hidden cash.

"No!" Joseph weakly says aloud, "no!"

Jeongguk ignores his pleas and proceeds to stuff the bands into Joseph's jacket. 

_'I don't want your dirty money!'_ Joseph signs, groaning in protest.

"I know! I know!" Jeongguk looks him in the eye and he wishes none of this would've ever happened, wishes he would've never stolen that car from Doc. 

But it's too late for that now.

"I can't leave you here!" Jeongguk tells him seriously and in the next moment, he's dialing the telephone.

_"Bo's diner. What'll you have?"_

"Is Taehyung there?" Jeongguk rushes out to the man who answered.

_"Tae? He's with a customer right now. You want to hold?"_

"Just tell him Baby's coming."

 _"Baby?"_ Jeongguk can almost hear the man's unimpressed smirk through the phone.

"B-A-B-Y, Baby."  
Then he hangs up, scoops Joseph up into his arms, and rushes the man outside.

He knows the purple sedan he just stole is exactly what they'll be looking for, so Jeongguk simply moves on to the next available vehicle.

**\---**

"Hello, my name's Joseph," Jeongguk speaks into his tape recorder. "Uh.. I like TV, and sometimes I also like to listen to old records through the vibrations. I like frozen peas, and meatloaf, and white bread and peanut butter."

 _'Spread to the edges,'_ Joseph signs to him and Jeongguk offers a small chuckle at that.

"Spread to the edges," he adds, and then, "please look after me. Thank you."

Jeongguk presses 'stop' and places the device in Joseph's lap now that he's situated in a rocking chair on the front porch of a nearby retirement home.

 _'Will you come back?'_ Joseph asks and Jeongguk feels his heart sink even further.

_'I don't know..'_

_'Is everything going to be okay?'_

Jeongguk nods, even if he's not so sure about that.   
_'I promised nothing would happen to you.. and I failed. But you're safe now.'_

 _'I'm not talking about me..'_ Joseph shakes his head and stares up at his son with concern sitting heavy in his chest.

As police arrive, throwing shades of cherry red and sky blue across the scene, Jeongguk disappears into the darkness, leaving Joseph behind at his new home.

**\---**

When Jeongguk pulls up to the diner, he makes eye contact with Taehyung through the window. He looks nervous and Jeongguk thinks he knows why, but he really doesn't.

He walks inside and before he can say a word, Taehyung swallows anxiously and says, "your buddy's here.." before glancing to the right, where Buddy is sat at the counter.

He takes a casual sip of his coffee before turning to face them both. "Hey, lovebirds. I was hoping I would catch you two together.." he unfolds the newspaper in front of him to reveal the glock he's hidden in it, "and here you are."

 _"Police have identified three of the four robbers. Killed were Monica Castello and Leon Jefferson III--"_ the television hanging in the corner reveals what Buddy and Jeongguk were part of.

"Monica.. my darling," Buddy stares up at her mugshot. "She was a good girl. I love--" he catches himself, "I _loved_ her."

He grabs the gun from the counter and casually waves it in their direction.

"What about Tae, Baby? Is he a good guy? You love him?"

"Yes, I do," Jeongguk says without a moment of hesitation and he hates that of all the moments he could've admitted that he loved Taehyung, it had to be this one.

"Oh, that's too bad," Buddy pretends to care and is prepared to kill both of them where they stand until a squad car pulled up to the diner.

Buddy returns the gun to its hiding spot in the paper and continues to sip from his coffee mug, acting natural for the police.

The three of them are completely silent as an officer enters the building and approaches the counter.

"Got a bathroom key?" he asks and as much as Taehyung wished he could tell the man what just happened, he knows that it could potentially make things a lot worse for not only himself, but Jeongguk as well. 

So he nods and tries to gather all of the strength he can in order to keep himself from crying while he retrieves the key.

After Taehyung hands it over and the officer disappears around the corner with it, Buddy pats the stool next to him, silently telling Jeongguk to take a seat.

Taehyung is still terrified, but stays silent as he glances over to gauge Jeongguk's reaction.

Jeongguk doesn't say anything, either.   
Just obeys Buddy's command by sitting next to him.

Then he taps his coffee mug, staring up at Taehyung expectantly. The waiter moves to pour more coffee into the cup, visibly shaking as he does so, and even ends up pouring a little too much.

"That's plenty," Buddy gives Tae a dirty look and Jeongguk wants to kill him now more than ever. "Thank you," he adds as if his thanks means anything to either of them.

Buddy turns to Jeongguk then and snatches an earbud from him to listen. He nods his head as if he's into it, even quietly sings along to the chorus before ripping the buds from both of their ears.

"Song's over, Baby," he wraps the cords around Jeongguk's iPod, "but I'm afraid you still have to face the music."

A waitress emerges from the back room then, clearly just clocking in considering she was still pinning her hair up.

"How are you two doing tonight?" she greets Jeongguk and Buddy.

"We're doing just fine. Ain't that right, Baby?" Buddy asks, and when he turns to look at Jeongguk again, he is surprised to be met with a bullet through the shoulder.

Jeongguk pauses for a moment after he's pulled the trigger, trying to process everything that's just happened.

The waitress shrieks at the sight and rushes into the back for cover as the officers who were waiting on their partner outside, came rushing in to assess the sudden commotion. 

"Let's go," Jeongguk snaps out of it, hops the counter, takes Taehyung's shaking hand, and leads him outside through the back.

"You can't keep running, Baby!" Buddy shouts after them from where he writhes in pain on the linoleum. "There's no escape! I will find you!"

As they step outside to find more and more cops arriving, Jeongguk freezes, "fuck!"

"Oh, God, what's happening, Baby?" Taehyung shakes his head stressfully, half ready to tear his hair out.

Jeongguk immediately pulls Taehyung close and kisses him for possibly the last time.   
"I have to go."

"No. I'm coming with you," Taehyung shakes his head, almost breathless.

**\---**

_"Who's this?"_

"It's Baby," Jeongguk says into the payphone.

_"Like I said, who's this?"_

"I need your help."

 _"I'm afraid this line is dead,"_ Doc hangs up immediately.

"Baby? We need to get out of here," Taehyung says from where he's stood outside the booth, feeling paranoid as he surveys the dark streets all around them.

"I just need one thing first. And then it's just us, the music, and the road," Jeongguk assures him. 

"But we don't have a car.. or music," Taehyung's brows are furrowed in confusion.

Jeongguk nods his head towards a few wannabe thugs drifting around the park & ride in their sports car. Taehyung takes the hint and follows Jeongguk down to them.

"Check out Bonnie and Clyde over here," the driver smirks and brakes as he watches the couple approach his car.

"More like Bonnie and Bonnie," the passenger adds and both of them laugh at the comment.

"Get out of the car," Jeongguk says flatly once they're close enough to be heard.

"You holding?" the passenger raises his brows at Jeongguk's audacity.

Jeongguk immediately pulls his gun on them.

"You ever even shot a gun before, homie?"

Jeongguk cocks the gun and replies, "I just did."

"Literally like five minutes ago.." Taehyung adds.

Both guys reluctantly put their hands in the air and get out of the car, but Jeongguk doesn't lower his gun until Taehyung is safely inside.

"Can I at least get my goddamn phone?" one of the thugs asks.

"No," Jeongguk mutters before shifting into reverse and quickly backing out of the lot.

Taehyung holds onto the door handle with white knuckles as Jeongguk bobs and weaves the car throughout the chaos of downtown traffic until they've made it to Doc's headquarters.

Even around the sharp corners of the parking garage, Jeongguk drifts and speeds toward their destination before coming to a smooth halt right in front of the elevator.

"Not a chauffeur.. noted," Taehyung says and tries his best to catch his breath.

**\---**

"It's over kid, I ain't open," Doc says simply when Jeongguk joins him where they used to debrief their missions.

"I need those tapes," Jeongguk replies.

"I'm not giving you those tapes."

Jeongguk raises the bag full of cash the team had stolen earlier that day. "I have the money orders. I'll trade you for one of those tapes."

"I can't help you, Baby."

"I shot Buddy."

"Congratulations. Then you'll only have every clean _and_ dirty cop after you," Doc says sarcastically and then raises his shotgun. "You gonna shoot me, too?"

"Never," Jeongguk drops the bag, "you and I are a team, Doc--"

"Don't feed me any more lines from Monsters Inc. It pisses me off!" Doc shouts at him, then explains, "it's one of Sam's favorites. I thought it sounded familiar, you little shit."

"I'm not your lucky charm anymore," Jeongguk says then. "But I'm standing here asking for your help."

"There's nothing I can do for you, kid," Doc says flatly. "And why should I, after what you've done to me?"

Taehyung slowly enters the room, approaches Jeongguk, and gently holds onto his bicep. "It's okay," he tells Jeongguk, "let's go."

"Oh, goddamn it.." Doc rolls his eyes at the sight. "Look at the two of you," he shakes his head before giving in, "okay, go get your fucking tape."

Jeongguk grabs the golden tape labeled ' _Mom._ ' and the three of them exit the building together.

As they're standing in the elevator, Doc tells them, "it's going to take a lot more than a cassette tape to get you two out of this because the news is all bad. Well, there is some good news. The good news is you like driving. Because you can't take your foot off the gas for the next 25 years."

Doc hands the bag full of money back to Jeongguk. "This should be enough to get you across the border. From there, it's on you."

Taehyung and Jeongguk both glance down at the bag, then back up at Doc with looks of pleasant surprise.

"Don't trust anyone else and don't ever look back," he tells them.

Taehyung lets his head rest against Jeongguk's shoulder as they wait out the rest of the elevator ride. For a moment, they're allowed to feel sort of normal.

"I was in love once," Doc explains why he's suddenly so set upon helping them out.


	11. ten

Three thugs await their arrival in the parking garage.

"Bananas!" one of them smirks as he swings a baseball bat in a circle and approaches the elevator.

"Run," Doc lifts his shotgun and proceeds to gun down the three thugs. When he turns to find that Jeongguk and Taehyung are still just standing there, he starts off with, "I thought--" but is interrupted by a bullet to the shoulder from behind.

Taehyung gasps at the sight and Jeongguk jumps at the sudden sound. With gritted teeth and a painful groan, Doc whips back around to shoot the last remaining thug directly in the face.

Taehyung's expression is one of horror.

Jeongguk has, unfortunately, seen it all before.

"I thought I told you to run," Doc pants as he stares at the two younger men with furrowed brows.

Seconds later red and blue lights flash around the garage and the sound of a siren echoes off the walls.

A squad car pulls up and stops right behind Doc.

Doc sighs, but realizes he's the only one left that can help them. "Go. I'll deal with the cops," he tells them.

Taehyung looks up at Jeongguk for direction, but Jeongguk doesn't move. He simply drops the bag of cash and says, "that's not the cops.."

"Here it is, Baby," Buddy's voice is amplified by the speakers on the squad car, "your killer track." He cranks the radio up and ' _Brighton Rock_ ' by Queen blares throughout the garage.

"Ah, fuck.." Doc grumbles to himself and proceeds to try and shoot through the windshield, but to no avail.

Buddy accelerates and plows right through him, on a mission to avenge his Darling by killing Tae and Baby.

Jeongguk quickly tackles Taehyung out of the way, both of them tumbling to the cement and out of the way of the oncoming vehicle.

Buddy quickly shifts into reverse.

"Move!" Jeongguk instinctively yells as he pulls Taehyung out of the way. Jeongguk drops the set of car keys he's been holding in the process, but quickly moves to snatch them up once the squad car is out of his way.

Buddy lines up the front with the elevator where Jeongguk stands, facing him at the opposite end of the garage.

He pulls his pistol from the back of his jeans, racks the slide, and aims directly at the car. Then he places his finger on the trigger and pulls it until the clip is empty, releasing the slide. 

Jeongguk growls in frustration.

Buddy closes in on him fast and Jeongguk doesn't even have time to think about it as he quickly hops onto the hood and runs along the top of the car while Buddy speeds beneath his feet.

He jumps off the spoiler and because he's gained too much momentum, he quickly rolls along the ground to avoid further injury as Buddy crashes into the elevator.

"The bag! Get the bag!" Jeongguk tells Taehyung as he quickly pushes himself to his feet.

"Okay!" Taehyung nods and rushes to complete the task while Jeongguk quickly unlocks their getaway car before getting in and push-starting it.

Once he's got the bag, Taehyung quickly slides in the passenger side while Buddy finally manages to reverse out of where he's been stuck the elevator. 

Jeongguk pulls out of the parking spot and both cars face each other as if in a stand off.

Jeongguk and Buddy glare at one another through their windshields until Buddy stomps on the gas, making Jeongguk follow suit only in reverse.

Taehyung holds on tight, afraid to look but also afraid to look away, as Jeongguk zips around the sharp corners of the parking garage until they reach the ground floor.

From there, Buddy forces Jeongguk and Taehyung into the next section, chasing them up and around until Buddy slides into a parked car, buying Jeongguk and Taehyung a little more time.

"We're getting out," Jeongguk stops the car once they're two floors higher.

"We're getting out?" Taehyung looks at Jeongguk with wide eyes.

"I have to end this."

When Buddy finally catches up, he finds Jeongguk's car abandoned and lifts his gun as he scans the level for the two of them.

"Come on out now, Baby," Buddy says over the intercom as he cruises along the cement. "Romeo! Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo?"

When he comes across Taehyung, standing out in the open, Buddy aims his gun.

"Now!" Tae shouts. His voice is shaky with fear, but he stands with determination.

Headlights flash from the opposite side of the squad car and Buddy is quickly T-boned by Jeongguk who had been waiting in a different vehicle.

He rams the squad car into another that's parked, catching Buddy off guard. He seethes in his seat as he picks up his gun again only to find that Jeongguk has fled the scene once again.

"Motherfucker!" Buddy screams. "Show yourself, Baby!!! You fucking child!!!"

"Hey, you okay, buddy?" a security guard flashes his flashlight in the window.

Buddy shoots the flashlight out of his hand.

"Ah!!" the man winces in pain and runs away screaming, "I've been shot!!! Assistance!!! Assistance, please!!!"

Buddy continues on, seeking out his targets until he finds them in a lower level behind the windshield of a pickup truck.

Buddy swallows thickly as Jeongguk accelerates and slams into the front of the squad car. He tries to resist, putting pedal to the metal, but the car is no match for Jeongguk's truck.

So as he is slowly being pushed towards the railing behind him, Buddy raises his gun once again and shoots out the truck's windshield.

Jeongguk and Taehyung duck of course, but Jeongguk doesn't let up. He continues to force Buddy towards the edge.

When he glances over at Taehyung who's crouched and shaking with fear and adrenaline in the passenger seat, Jeongguk is filled to the brim with rage.

He reverses a few feet and seethes, "fuck you, Buddy," before shifting back into drive and speeding into the front of the squad car once more, breaking the barrier behind it and sending the car about three stories down to the ground below.

Jeongguk quickly climbs out of the truck to witness the aftermath, peering over the edge at the flaming car that's landed on its roof.

"Baby!!!" Taehyung shrieks, and in the next second, there's a gun to Jeongguk's temple.

"You did good, kid," Buddy smirks and Jeongguk doesn't have time to figure out how the fuck he could have possibly survived. "But, you took something away from me that I love."

Jeongguk's jaw is set as he stares Buddy directly in the eye. 

"You know I gotta do the same," he tells Jeongguk.

Instead of turning on his heel to murder Taehyung as Jeongguk initially expected him to, Buddy aims slightly to the right of Jeongguk's head and pulls the trigger.

"Ah!!!" Jeongguk shouts in pain as Buddy quickly aims slightly to the left of his head and shoots again, rupturing both of Jeongguk's ear drums.

"I really wish you could hear him scream!" Buddy is shouting at him, but at this point, Jeongguk can only read his lips.

Taehyung quickly looks around inside the truck for anything that could possibly help and when he spots it, he quickly snatches up the crowbar from the backseat.

"Guess you'll just have to watch!" Buddy smirks down at Jeongguk writhing in pain on the cement. But just as he turns to approach the truck, Taehyung cracks him over the wrist with the crowbar, both injuring and disarming him.

He swings for Buddy's head, but his arm is seized instead. Then, as Buddy begins to choke him out, Jeongguk wills himself to sit up and grab Buddy's gun from the ground.

He shoots him directly in the kneecap.

"Ah!" Buddy shouts in both pain and surprise, stumbling backward until he slips off the edge, falling to his death on top of the flaming squad car.

Taehyung rushes to the edge to be sure that he's dead, feeling the smallest bit of satisfaction as he watches Buddy burn alive.

Jeongguk drops the gun then and whimpers at the searing pain in both of his ears. 

"Baby!" Taehyung is quick to try and help him to his feet.


	12. epilogue

"What are you doing?" Jeongguk asks when he regains consciousness to discover he's sat in the passenger seat of a truck. Taehyung drives them along an open road. The sun is shining bright and Jeongguk can hear the faint hum of a familiar song coming from the stereo.

"Driving.. listening to music," Taehyung smiles over at him for a second before focusing on the road again. "Is this really your mom?"

Jeongguk spots the golden tape case resting on the dash and answers, "yeah."

"She has a beautiful voice," Taehyung tells him.

"Yeah," Jeongguk agrees with him, placing his palm against the speaker in the door so he can really feel it.

As they cross a bridge however, they're met with a barrier of police cars and officers.

Taehyung's lips part and his heart sinks to his feet, but he shifts into reverse, only to spot more red & blue lights in the rearview mirror.

Jeongguk has the same sad look on his face, and Taehyung can't stand it. He accelerates in reverse, only for Jeongguk to jam his own foot down on the brake. 

The tires squeal as they're stuck in place for a moment. Taehyung doesn't want to give up, but he can see it in Jeongguk's eyes that this isn't going to work. Not this time.

They both take their feet off the pedals. 

Jeongguk places a gentle hand on Taehyung's nape and pulls him close enough to kiss him one last time before pulling the keys from the ignition.

"You don't belong in this world," Jeongguk says against his lips before moving to exit the vehicle.

"No.." Taehyung shakes his head as he watches Jeongguk toss the keys over the railing and into the river below them. He puts both hands in the air and slowly approaches the officers.

He obeys their commands, turning around and facing the truck where Taehyung stares back at him with tears in his big brown eyes.

"Hands behind your back!" Three officers slowly approach Jeongguk with guns raised.

Jeongguk lowers his arms and brings his wrists together at the bottom of his spine.

"Don't move!"

" _I'm sorry.._ " Jeongguk mouths to Taehyung and he wishes there was another way out of this. But he knows there isn't.

Jeongguk knows he's just as guilty for his part in these crimes as any of the other members of Doc's crew were. 

When the three officers finally reach Jeongguk, one of them grabs his arm and shoves him down onto his knees.

"Leave him alone!!" Taehyung gets out and shouts as he watches them roughly detain Jeongguk with no sign of remorse.

**\---**

"How would you describe your... _relationship_ with the defendant?" a lawyer asks Taehyung on the day of Jeongguk's trial.

"We were friends.. and I think we both wanted to be more than that," Taehyung answers honestly as he swore he would only moments beforehand. "But he got himself into a bad spot.. and I was just trying to get him out. I believe the defendant is of good character. He didn't deserve what happened to him."

Later on, the elderly woman Jeongguk carjacked gave her testimony. "It was the strangest thing.. he finally drove off, but he threw my purse right to me.." 

The lawyer gives her a look, but she seems a bit confused by the statement herself. "Then he actually said, 'I'm sorry'.."

Then, the lady Jeongguk tried to warn at the bank the day he killed Bats says her piece. "He looked at me and he shook his head like he was warning me not to go inside.. He looked concerned, like he actually wanted to save me.."

The last to speak, Jeongguk's foster father Joseph, gives his testimony via a sign language interpreter. "He made a mistake when he was younger and it's haunted him ever since. When he tried to get out, he was pressured even harder. It was never his fault. He's got a good heart. Always has, always will."

"With regard to counts one through nineteen, and count twenty-one, I hereby sentence the defendant to twenty-five years in the federal penitentiary, subject to a parole hearing after five years served," the judge rules quite unfavorably and Jeongguk accepts his fate with a stressful sigh.

With a crack of the gavel, the trial is dismissed.

**\---**

Jeongguk sat alone in the lunch room, staring into space until he's being tapped on the shoulder.

"You got a letter, kid," a guard lazily tosses it onto the table in front of him.

As soon as he sees the return address, Jeongguk rips open the envelope to read the contents:

_Hey, Baby._

_You know, it's funny... even though I heard it so many times in the court case, I still can't get used_ _to the fact that your real name is Jeongguk._

_It's a cool name, though._

_I can't think of any songs to go with it,  
but at least we still have all of those Baby songs to listen to first..._

_I can't wait until the day when it's just us, music, and the road._

_See you later, Baby..._

_All my love,_

_Taehyung._


End file.
